


The Struggle of It All

by WritingTrash



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Human AU, KaraMel, Karamel AU, Police Officer Mike AU, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reporter Kara Danvers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2019-11-08 21:52:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 30,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17989169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingTrash/pseuds/WritingTrash
Summary: After Officer Mike Matthews is forced to step down from his job in Atlanta due to an accident, he finds himself moving to National City to live with his older brother Winn Schott. Mike struggles to find any reason to embrace his new start in National City. Kara Danvers intends to make herself his reasons.





	1. Your Brother?

**Author's Note:**

> I woke up with the sudden urge to write something today after not writing for a few years so... I made this. I'm my own editor so any errors are entirely my bad. I placed the rating at Teen for now, it'll probably be moved up in later chapters just as a heads up. I have no idea how long this story is going to be or where its going to end up at this point since I've only written the first few chapters. Enjoy!

Kara let out a frustrated sigh as she glanced at the clock across the room. 

6:30.

Winn was supposed to arrive at Kara’s apartment nearly half an hour ago. She couldn’t decide whether she was more angry or concerned about his lack of presence, after all they were supposed to be planning HIS birthday party. Winn was rarely late and if he was he usually called to give a heads up. 

Her concern growing, Kara stood up and reached across the counter top to grab her phone from the charger. The only thing she saw was her wallpaper, a photo of herself, her sister Alex and Winn from a few months ago. No new messages, no missed calls. 

She placed her phone back down but not before ensuring her ringer was on in the event he called. Upon taking a glance around her apartment, Kara moved towards the living “room”, if it can even be called that. Her loft was basically one giant room, kitchen, dining area and living area all intertwined. The only separation she had was a makeshift wall that split her bedroom and bathroom from the rest of the place. 

Grabbing a few books from around the room and placing them back on the shelf, she began to clean. After only a few short minutes of cleaning, Kara decided she had done enough for today, there would still be plenty of time to set up tomorrow before the guests showed up. Grabbing her copy of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” she plopped herself on the couch and began to read. Despite the unfortunate plot of the book, Kara always found something drawing her to the play as she opened up the worn, but clearly loved book for the hundredth time. 

It wasn’t until the abrupt ringing of her phone that Kara realized that two hours had passed. The sun was setting and the apartment had developed a golden glow to it. Stand up and letting out a groan as she stretched, Kara made her way to her phone, this time the screen displaying Winn’s face. A quick twinge of anger and relief passed through Kara before she slid her thumb across the screen to answer his call.

“Winn Schott where the HELL were you? You better have a good excuse…” She starts before he can even get a word out, not realizing how angry she must have been about his no-show.

“Kara, I’m so sorry. I can explain,” Winn began in a apologetic whisper.

“Have you been kidnapped?”

“What? No. Why?” He continued in his hushed voice.

“Then what are you whispering for?” Kara said whispering in a mocking matter.

“It’s my brother and”

“Your brother…?” 

Kara was taken aback by Winn’s mention of his brother. Winn rarely talked about his family, he had grown up with a tough childhood, his father in prison and his mother struggling to provide for her children. He had been working most of his life to escape his past and make a better life for himself in National City. She only remembered him mentioning a brother once, when they first met.

“Yeah,” he dragged out the word, “he had an accident at work, had to resign and move from Atlanta. He’s moving in with me as we speak.”

“Wow.” She thought she was shocked by the mention of his brother, let alone the fact that he was moving in with Winn.

“Mhm, so that’s where I was today, I’m so sorry I missed the planning. I meant to tell you at work today that I had to deal with this but then Cat assigned me to do a bunch of additional work and I just got overwhelmed and forgot. I’m sorry.” His voice cracking at the end.

“Hey! Winn don’t worry about it. Clearly this is a situation that deserves more of you attention then a party.” Kara felt guilt rising in her stomach, she was so quick to assume he had forgotten about her or blown her off, yet here he was dealing with this chaotic situation.

“So about tomorrow, he started before Kara heard a knock on the other end of the line. “Hang on Kara”

Winn didn’t bother to set his phone down as he walked to his bedroom door, opening it to come face to face with his brother and new roommate, Mike. 

“Sorry to bother you again,” Mike hesitated, he really didn’t want to add to the burden he had already created, he then saw the phone in Winn’s hand, “um… never mind… sorry I didn’t realize you were on the phone.”

“It’s fine, just a friend, she’ll understand. What do you need?” Winn was trying his best to be as kind and sympathetic to his brother who was currently in a much worse situation than himself.

“Uh do you have a towel I could use, I wanted to shower and mine are in one of the boxes I haven’t gotten to yet.” 

“Of course. There should be some in your bathroom closet, if not feel free to grab one from my bathroom closet.”

“Okay thanks, sorry about interrupting again.” Mike said, giving Winn a very forced and still rather sad looking smile before turning and walking away.

“And Mike if you need anything else just take it, I really don’t mind.”

So his name was Mike, Kara thought to herself, she probably shouldn’t have been listening to the conversation but she couldn’t help that Winn’s phone picked up the conversation between him and his brother.

Winn walked backwards until his legs hit the foot of the bed and he let his upper body collapse onto the mattress, exhaling. 

“Sorry about that Kara,” he returned the phone to his ear.

“No problem. Are you sure you still want to have this party tomorrow? Or is that going to be another thing added onto your overwhelmed plate already?” 

“No. We are having that party. I’m going to need something normal in my life and that is going to be getting drunk at my own birthday party surrounded by my friends.” 

He had been looking forward to the party all week, getting to spend some time with his friends, away from work, drinking, eating and playing games.

“I’m going to have to bring him with Kara, I don’t think I should leave him alone, for more reasons than one.” Winn said with a rather defeated tone.

It’s not that he didn’t like his brother. He did. It was more that they hadn’t seen each other in a while and since then Mike had been through a lot. He was not the most ideal party goer at the moment. But then again, maybe a party would help raise Mike’s spirits and put him in a better mood. Plus he could meet Winn’s friends, he could use some right now. 

“That's not a problem, Winn. I’m sure everyone will be excited to meet him. Try not to stress yourself over this, okay? I can't pretend to know what you’re dealing with but I know you, you can always figure things out. You should try and get some sleep and unwind,” Kara tried her best to reassure him. 

“Thanks. Goodnight Kara.” 

“Goodnight Winn.” 

She hung up the phone and sat at her counter dumbfounded. She began running through the conversation again in her head. He had a brother, Mike, who had to move and quit his job because of an accident, and who was coming to the party because Winn didn’t want to leave him alone. She had so many questions and so few answers. Rubbing her temples Kara rose from the stool she was on and walked to her bedroom. She was going to take her own advice and get some rest before tomorrow’s events.

After hanging up Winn remained on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Following in his brother’s footsteps, Winn made his way to the bathroom starting the shower. He stripped and got in letting the warm water and steam envelop him and his stress.


	2. The First Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is preparing for Winn's birthday party and Mike is introduced to Kara for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the Kudos and Comments on the last chapter! It makes me so happy to know someone, somewhere is getting entertainment out of a story I'm writing. I really love the comments and the ability to interact with you guys through them! Hope you enjoy this longer chapter!

Mike bolted upright, snapping out of his slumber for the third time that night. Each time he had woken up had been for different reasons. The first, a barking dog. The second, he had rolled too far to the right and hit the wall of his new bedroom. The third, a nightmare. Nightmares were nothing new to Mike, he had always had them sporadically as a child and throughout his adolescence. However they had become recurring since his accident. The same dream, reliving the 28th of October every night in his slumber. He would wake up in a sweaty clammy with a racing heart, never failing to drench both his shirt and the sheets he was sleeping on. It had become so consistent he usually avoided sleeping with a shirt on to avoid the extra hassle of changing and washing the shirt.

Frustrated by the brutal awakening, Mike vigorously pulled his shirt up his torso and over his head before throwing it to the side of his mattress. Something about being in someone else’s home had made him wear a shirt to bed, even if that someone was his brother. Stretching across the mattress, he picked up his phone, checking the time. 5:38 am. Mike rolled his eyes and swung his legs to the side of the bed and using his arms lowered himself to the floor. He had convinced himself 5:38 was an acceptable time to wake up especially when the alternative is trying to sleep again, risking the sweating, panic and terror all over again.

He remained shirtless as he wandered out of Winn’s guest room and into the kitchen. Not wanting to wake his host by trying to make something exciting for breakfast, Mike opted for eating a banana and a simple piece of toast. He pulled out a chair from the small table in the corner of Winn’s kitchen and slumped down into it. His heart rate finally returning to its normal pace, he was finally able to physically relax. He sat in a mindless stare, zoning out from reality. Another side effect of the accident. Only this consequence Mike was grateful for, it allowed for a temporary escape from reality. Again, Mike’s trance was broken by the sound of an alarm on the other side of the house, coming from Winn’s bedroom. The clock now read 7:30 am.

Winn stumbled into the kitchen, still tipsy from his nights rest, he was startled awake upon seeing a figure sitting in his kitchen. Mike. 

“Good morning,” Winn began trying to start some form of conversation between him and his younger brother.

“Morning, uh, I hope you don’t mind I made myself breakfast,”

Winn couldn’t help but snicker at his brother, “Mike, I told you last night, anything you need just take it. I was being serious.” Mike only nodded in response. A silence falling over the kitchen once again.

“So, my friends are throwing me a birthday party later today. I think you should come with, get to know some people in National City, it’ll be fun.” Winn wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince here, Mike to come to the party or himself that inviting Mike was a good idea. It’s not that he didn’t want to spend time with Mike, he just wasn’t sure if a party with Winn’s close friends was going to be the best introduction to the city. The other option was leave Mike home and he had decided that situation was the worse of the two. Kara would also take his head off if he left his little brother at home after talking to her last night. 

“Okay, I guess.” Reluctantly Mike accepted the invitation. He definitely was not in the mood for a party with the day he has had, let alone the past few months. He really didn’t want to invade Winn’s birthday party either, he knew he was being invited out of pity and that everyone at the party would be aware of that as well. He was Winn’s broken little brother, not a part of the group of friends and colleagues. But, it would be rude to reject the invite, so there he was signing himself up for multiple hours of social interaction with people he’s never met.

*****

Kara had woken up rather late, after failing to set an alarm last night, she was slowly pulled from her sleep from the brightening glow coming through the window, which she had also forgotten to pull the curtains closed on. She pulled her arms out from under the blankets and stretched them over her head letting out a mixture of a groan and whine. Kara stayed sunken into her bed letting the warmth from the sun, the blankets and her own body start to lull her back into sleep. Just before she drifted into the abyss of sleep, she was ripped from it by the sound of her phone vibrating against the wooden nightstand.

It was Alex. Kara brought the phone closer to her face to read the context of the message. 

Missed Call: Alex Danvers (5)  
Alex: Are you even awake?  
Alex: Kara?  
Alex: Answer your door or your phone.  
Alex: Maggie is threatening to break your door down.  
Alex: I swear to all that is good Kara. I offer to help you set up for the party and YOU'RE STILL ASLEEP!

It took Kara a second to register what she was reading, still in a mental fog. She closed her eyes again for a brief moment before the opened and shot to the top of her phone screen to read the time. Her eyes widened and she tore off her covers. It was half past 10, the party was starting at 12. Running to her door, she pulled the handle only to be stopped by the lock. She aggressively twisted the lock and swung the door open to see her sister Alex and Alex’s wife Maggie sitting, backs against the hallway across from Kara’s door.

“Wow. Good timing little Danvers, we’ve only been waiting for an hour” Maggie mocked.

“I’m so sorry, I fell asleep after talking to Winn really later, which is a completely different story, and I forgot to set an alarm.” Kara yelled as she walked toward her bedroom to throw on the outfit she had picked out for the party.

“You’re lucky I’m a good sister, I’ll start setting up the kitchen.”

Kara just laughed at her sister as she picked up the neatly folded pile of clothes that sat on the trunk at the foot of her bed. She mentally thanked herself for picking out the clothes last night before she fell asleep. The last thing she needed now was a fashion decision making her more late to a party at her own loft. Grabbing the bottom of her bed shirt, Kara removed it, replacing it with a much nicer medium grey sweater. The sweater was incredibly soft and comfortable while still managing to look nice enough for the party. She completed the outfit with a pair of ordinary high waisted jeans. She pulled her hair out from the up-do it had been in for sleeping. Not feeling motivated and not wanting to waste anymore time, Kara allowed her hair to fall, leaving the placement of each curl up to gravity.

By the time she returned to the kitchen, Maggie and Alex had nearly set everything up, the snacks, gifts and Alex was continuing to arrange the alcohol on the island in the kitchen. Lena and James had arrived while Kara was getting changed, she was standing in the kitchen dressed in a sapphire blue long sleeve, v-neck shirt and black high waisted pants. James was on the couch, wearing a light grey button up, the top few buttons left open, and a pair of jeans. Lena was followed shortly by Nia and Brainy. The two had walked in hand in hand, they had just begun dating a few weeks ago and were very much in the honeymoon phase, unable to be away from each other for too long, with constant displays of affection. Kara knew it was wrong but she had developed a slight envy of them. She had only ever had a boyfriend in high school which was ultimately short lived and a few college flings here and there but never anything serious. Never the holding hands, stares across a crowded room, going everywhere and doing everything together relationship.

The next knock on the door caused a brief feeling of nerves to fly through Kara. She admits, she had been very curious about Winn’s brother since the conversation last night. As she walked over the door, reaching for the doorknob and twisting her wrist she thought of her expectations she had come up with last night. Kara was fully expecting him to be the spitting image of Winn a few years ago, short, bright eyed, clean shaven, the typical IT guy description. After opening the door, to say she was stunned would be an understatement.

Winn was standing closest to the door, a large grin on his face. He wore a white and black plaid shirt with a black sweater over it so only the collar peeked out. His hair in it’s usual messy yet organized manner.

But Winn was not the shocking factor to Kara in this situation. 

Behind Winn stood who Kara quickly realized was Mike, and he couldn’t have been more unlike Winn if he had tried. Mike towered well over Winn, who was only 5’9”, he had to have been over six feet tall. Mike was not only tall, but built. He had a prominent chest, with broad shoulder. His shoulders tapered off into strong arms and well defined biceps. The black shirt short sleeved shirt he wore did his shape incredible justice as it flowed over each ridge and valley of his toned upper body. It looked as if he could pop from the shirt at any second. Kara’s eyes finally traveled up to his face. He had rather dark, sad eyes that shifted up from the floor to meet Kara’s blue ones. His jawline, chin and upper lip were covered in stubble, framing his lips which were pressed into an obviously forced smile.

Realizing Kara had been staring at his brother for a few seconds longer than he would have liked, Winn cleared his throat, said hello to Kara and moved across the threshold of the door and into the party. Mike followed like a lost puppy, on Winn’s heels as he moved forward, giving Kara a polite hello as well when he passed her on his way into the party. She continued to watch him as he began to be introduced by Winn to Lena, Nia and Brainy. His back side looked just as good as his front, his back muscles were easily thanks to the tight shirt. His legs and butt were also well toned as they rested in his jeans.

“If you keep staring at him like he’s the last pot-sticker on Earth, you're going to freak him out Kara.” Alex had snuck up on her left and spoke in a whisper.

Kara blushed, she hadn’t realized how obvious her staring was, embarrassed that she had been caught admiring his figure.

“I’m just saying, maybe get to know him before you try to jump him,” Alex teased, “But maybe he’s into obsessive staring for all we know.” and with that Alex walked to introduce herself to the new guest. It was Kara who followed Alex like a lost puppy this time.

She had to learn more about Mike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, feel free to leave comments on suggestions, critiques etc. I love reading and hearing everyone's thoughts! <3


	3. The First Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike becomes overwhelmed at the party. Having to meet so many people at once was hectic. Kara takes notice and tries her best to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took over a week to publish. I had a family emergency that took up most of my time this week, making it really hard to write. This chapter is short again, and I'm sorry. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Mike’s head was spinning.

Winn had managed to introduce him to everyone at the party in what felt like 30 seconds. He was struggling to keep all the new information straight in his head. Having names, jobs, how they knew Winn, and whether or not they had even known Winn had a brother was overwhelming to say the least. Mike felt like he was drowning, hoping only for a few seconds of silence to compose himself before being introduced to the next friend. 

First was James. He was a photographer or maybe a writer, Mike couldn’t remember, and worked with Winn. And he dated Kara? Which, of course, was useless information to Mike not knowing who Kara was. Then came Lena, the CEO of something who also had worked with Winn at CatCo at some point. Maybe she was a reporter too? She had dated Winn at some point. Wait. No. Had she dated James? It is not like Mike really cared, this information wouldn’t serve him any good later in life. Then Nia and Brainy, who were either dating or flirting at an extreme level. No surprise at the fact that they both worked at CatCo. Mike was able to find some comfort after being introduced to Alex and her girlfriend… wife, Maggie. Both were in law enforcement which to Mike was familiar, unlike the life at CatCo that everyone else seemed have. Thankfully Mike only remained the center of attention for a brief moment, before the preexisting friend group fell back into normal conversation. Sentences filled with memories and jokes that Mike didn’t understand nor care to join in. 

Feeling unsettled Mike shifted his weight from his right foot to his left and back again. His hands rested in front of him, just under the kitchen counter top hiding his anxious fidgeting. Repeatedly lacing and rubbing his palms together alongside the occasional attempt to crack his knuckles. He let his head swivel, taking in the entire apartment. It was small yet not cramped. The kitchen a mix of order and mess consisted of a small wall lined with appliances with the counter he stood at paralleling it. Behind him was the dinning area. Nothing extreme here, a simple table and chairs, the table currently piled with various snacks. The only other room visible was the living room. Couches, chairs and a television all arranged in the center of the room surrounding a rectangle of carpet. What drew Mike’s attention was the large windows behind the television and next to the bookcases. Realizing no one would miss his presence in the kitchen he walked to the fridge, grabbed a beer and headed over to see the view. 

The view was beautiful. Tall buildings stood out along the now orange and yellow sky, the sun just beginning to set. The pleasure of the view only lasted a moment before the darkness consumed Mike’s mind again. He regretted coming to the party. It's not like he had a choice though, Winn was pretty insistent. Sure he was surrounded by people but he had never felt more alone. He couldn't even remember anyone's name anymore. He lifted the bottle to his lips, letting the alcohol slide over his tongue before swallowing, hoping it would help left the weight of emotions that rested in his chest. He lowered the bottle, scanning the skyline as if it had changed since his last look. After each observation of the city below, he lifted the bottle, repeating the motions in a mindless loop.

Kara watched as Mike removed himself from the conversations in the kitchen and had made his way to the window in her living room. She had yet to introduce herself formally to him. She intended to after he met everyone else but he had looked so strained after meeting everyone else, she decided against it. She wasn’t sure what his deal was yet but she intended on finding out. 

It was now Kara who was no longer paying any attention to the kitchen deliberation. She watched as Mike nursed the beer in his hand while staring ahead at the city below him. His face no longer displayed the overwhelmed look as it had just an hour ago. It now displayed an emotion Kara knew all too well, loneliness. Loneliness was something she had always struggled with, sure now she had a great group of friends but before meeting Winn, her closest friend was her roommate who she had spoken to maybe ten times the entire school year.

*****

It was Kara’s third week at her new job. She had been so excited when she received the offer. The chance to move to a new city, National City, work for a huge company, CatCo and directly under the woman herself, Cat Grant. Unfortunately all her new job had done so far was make her an expert in coffee orders and eating lunch alone. It wasn't that there wasn't anyone to eat with, there were plenty of other workers. Except they had all been employed much longer with Kara and had established their friends. She became lonely to an extent she didn't know was possible. She rarely talked to anyone unless it was ordering coffee, lunches or agreeing to anything Ms. Grant said. That was until one day someone pulled a chair up to her desk while she was having lunch.

“Hi, I’m Winn,” Kara quickly recognized the stranger as the man who sat at a desk right of hers, “is it okay if I sit here?” 

“Uh,” Kara hesitated, taken aback at the fact that someone wanted to spend their lunch near her, “sure” she mumbled shrugging her shoulders. “I’m Kara by the way.”

That lunch turned out to be one of the best things that has happened to Kara since she moved to National City. Winn turned out to be a funny and genuine guy and their friendship sparked. It wasn’t long until Winn introduced Kara to his friends, James and Lena, who then introduced her to Nia and then to Brainy. The simple lunch had given her friends, a family outside of her parents and Alex. 

*****

Something about that look and the memory attached to it caused Kara to slip off the stool she was on and move across her flat in the direction of Mike’s figure. Based on his look, all he needed was a friend. She could be that friend… plus she had to introduce herself and redeem herself from the embarrassing staring that occurred at the door frame earlier. 

She walked up and stopped herself right in front of the window to Mike’s left. Unsure of her next move she froze for a moment, now matching Mike’s appearance with a blank stare out the window. The sound of him clearing his throat brought Kara back to the situation at hand.  
“Sorry I don't mean to bother you but I wanted to introduce myself, well I guess reintroduce myself.” Kara felt her cheeks flush as she wanted nothing more that to ignore the intense staring that had occurred earlier. “I’m Kara”. She turned to look at Mike and found herself eye level with his chest, having to awkwardly tilt her head to meet his eyes. She noticed his eyes were not as dark as they had appeared earlier. They were a blend of grey and blue, a mix of softness and sadness present in them. 

“Mike,” he responded, having to nearly tilt his head all the way forward to look at the girl in front of him. She was much shorter than she had appeared when she had greeted them at the door. He took a second to memorize her face with her name as he had done with every other party guest that night. She had blonde waves for hair that rested around her face and just below her shoulders.Just over her left eyebrow rested a tiny scar. Her cheeks were a rosy color that he was sure wasn’t there before. Moving down she had red lips that were parted into a smile showing her teeth. But what stood out to Mike were her eyes. They were captivating. A bolder, more vivid blue with dilated pupils. Her eyes looked happy, if eyes could smile, hers definity were. He could get lost in her eyes.

And he did, but so did she.

Once it set in that Mike had been staring into Kara’s eyes for too long and Kara had been staring into Mike’s eyes for too long they both glanced away. Kara’s eyes dropping to the floor, tracing the hardwood pattern with her eyes. Mike turned his head back to the window, the sky now a dark blanket. The lights of each building and car standing out.

“So what brings you to National City,” Kara mentally kicked herself the second the words left her mouth. She knew why he was here, to an extent. ‘He had an accident at work’ Winn’s words from a few nights ago resonated in her head. She shouldn’t have asked, she was just desperate to find out about him, to start some kind of conversation.

“Work.” His response was short, not in the mood to discuss his past let alone his work history with anyone at the moment.

“Oh.” Kara responded, not really knowing how to follow up. She lifted the bottle in her hand to her lips forcing herself to shut up before she said or did anything to further make a fool of herself. She could see out of the corner of her eye Mike following her action, tipping his bottle back emptying it into his mouth. 

This time it was Mike who broke the silence that had crept its way between them, “Where’s the recycling, for the bottle?” he gestured to the empty beer in his hand. 

“Just to the left of the fridge.”

“Thanks,” he gave Kara one quick smile before making his way to the kitchen.  
Kara shut her eyes and let out a groan, only loud enough for herself to hear. That couldn't have gone worse. She had just tried to help and probably made him feel more uncomfortable. Who did she think she was? She wasn’t Winn. She can't just walk up to people and strike up a conversation like he can. What an idiot, she thought. She was saved from her own self loathing by Lena’s voice announcing a toast. 

She opened her eyes an turned to walk to the kitchen and just her luck met Mike’s gaze across the room. Only it was his eyes that widened and his cheeks that became slightly pink when he noticed she was looking back at him. Kara’s eyebrows furrowed, a question arising in her mind.

Had he been staring at her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for spending your time reading! I love the feedback that you guys have been giving me on all the chapters. <3


	4. “This”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the party winds down, guests begin to leave. Kara discovers that the staring was more noticeable than she had hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for abandoning this story again. I am still working through the family emergency I mentioned in the previous chapter. I was able to quickly write this chapter which was supposed to be much longer but because of timing I had to split this chapter and next chapter. Thank you for your patience. I should be back to weekly updates now.

The rest of the evening had been a bit of a blur. There was a brief champagne toast to Winn, followed by remarks about how old he was now. The party then returned to its state prior to the toast, groups of friends scattered around Kara’s apartment talking and drinking. It wasn’t long before James rose from the couch and announced that he was headed out. He gave everyone a hug before leaving, thanking Kara for the party and wishing Winn one last “happy birthday” before closing the door behind him. Alex and Maggie were the next to leave, Maggie was on duty the next day and wanted to ensure herself some sleep before work. Just before walking out the door Alex grabbed Kara by the wrist piling her aside.

“Coffee. Tomorrow. 9:00. Were talking about this” Alex stayed her eyes shifting between Kara and Mike who had followed Winn over to the couch. 

“Fine, only because I like coffee and spending time with you. There is no “this”,” She glared back, mocking her sister.

Maggie has now made her way over and opened the door, overhearing the conversation between the sisters, “Well the staring says otherwise little Danvers” she butted in with a smile before pulling her girlfriend behind her and out the door.

Kara felt her face blush, she hoped the staring wasn’t obvious to everyone. She took a deep breath trying to compose herself before turning back to face the remaining party guests. Lena, Winn and Mike were all sitting in the living room. She noticed Mike’s appearance had shifted, he seemed more relaxed and calm, so maybe large groups weren’t his thing. Before she could get caught staring again, she began grabbing empty bottles and plates from around the kitchen and tossing them. Cleaning was a good distraction and right now she needed any kind of distraction. She continued to pick up forks and knives, napkins, cups until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Lena, cost already on ready to leave.  
“Thank you for the party Kara,” she pulled her in for a hug. “I had a really great time, as I’m sure everyone did.”

“Yeah, Except for Mike,” Kara muttered under her breath, not wanting anyone to hear her comment. “Well I’m glad it came together well, it was a bit of a last minute rush,” she said louder now with a giggle at the end remembering her late wake up that morning.

The two had now made their way to the door, Lena stood half in the hall, half in Kara’s apartment, “I’m sure Mike had a fine time, he seemed to have spent the last few hours of the party staring you down, just as you did for the first few hours of the party.” She added with a wink before fully exiting. 

Kara found herself again, for the third time that night, standing at the door of her apartment blushing. It felt stupid. Why is she getting working up about the teasing, her friends did it all the time with her. They always made comments and little jokes about how boys looked at her when they went out. It had never bothered her, until now. She also felt stupid because it was like he was a stranger. They talked for maybe five minutes and even then, four of those minutes were filled with silence and the one was filled with her own thoughtless comments. 

She groaned, not actually intending for sound to come out of her mouth, but with her luck it did.

“You good Kara?” Winn asked, he had moved to the kitchen which meant Mike had moved to the kitchen as well. He was finishing up the cleaning that had been interrupted by Lena.

“Oh… yeah. Just tired, it’s been a long day.” Her eyes darted around the room, finding anything to look at except Winn or Mike. 

“Yeah It has been, I think we got everything but is there anymore cleaning yo want us to help with before we head out?” 

Kara took a quick glance around the room. As much as she wanted to escape her embarrassment and be alone, she also appreciated the offer to clean. Thankfully she saw everything had been tidied and back to its place prior to the party. “No, thank you for your help. I think everything’s back to normal.”

“Okay,” Winn held his arms out for Kara, wrapping her in a hug. “Thank you again for the party, as much as I don’t like being reminded that I’m old, it’s nice to do so around people like you.” 

“I’ll always be here to remind you how old you are Winn.” She laughed, stepping back and opening the door for them. 

“I guess I’ll see you at work Monday?” 

“As long as Cat doesn’t fire me between now and then, but you never know.”

Just as Winn walked through the door frame, Mike stopped and turned to Kara.

“Thanks, Kara.” His voice just louder than a whisper. He hesitated just before saying her name, trying it out for the first time. He liked how her name rolled of his tongue effortlessly.

Her eyes quickly snapped up to meet his, she smiled at the sound of her name coming from his mouth. “Of course, Mike.” Returning the favor I’m trying out his name for the first time. “Anytime.” 

He reached for the door handle, wanting to close the door behind himself, and just his luck, so did she. Their hands met for a shirt moment, his fingertips grazing the back of her hand. The moment only lasted half a second before they both pulled away as if they had touched fire. A heat that had become all too familiar to both of them tonight crept up their cheeks.

“Sorry,” they both quickly added before Mike’s hand returned to the door, closing it.

Kara, face still red, eyes squeezed shut, turned around. Turning, her back came into contact with the door, the back of her head hitting the wood panel harder than she intended. She let her feet slip forward, lowering her body until she was seated on the floor. Keeping her knees bent, she placed her elbows on top of them and her face in her palms. There she sat, confused. She could decide if she should laugh at what had just happened, or cry, or be embarrassed? She remained on the floor dumbfounded at her own situation for a few moments before deciding the only way to end her confusion was sleep.

Stripping off her party clothes, Kara pulled a oversized shirt onto her chest and a pair of shorts on. She left her hair down, not having the energy or desire to deal with putting it up. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, rushing through her nighttime routine to get to sleep faster. Turning off the bathroom lights Kara moved over to her bed, pulled back the sheets and climbed in. She grabbed her phone, setting an alarm for 9:00 before remembering her coffee date with Alex and changing it to 8:00. Thankfully the party had drained her to the point that her mind wasn’t able to race and come up with hypothetical situations with her and Mike. 

Maybe Alex was right. She definitely needed to figure out what “this” was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Alex lecturing and teasing Kara about dating. Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave Kudos or comments! <3


	5. The Coffee Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara continues to struggle with her sudden feelings for Mike, she decided she needs to talk it over with someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this is short but I’m off of classes the next few days so I’m hoping to do maybe 2 more chapters this week!

She had arrived at the coffee shop, a place she frequented, either grabbing coffee for herself or Ms. Grant a few years ago. She loved everything about the shop. It was small and hidden within the city. Never too crowded, always the same staff. They knew Kara and her order and something about that was comforting yet concerning, but she didn’t mind. As she walked in she scanned the shop.

There were only a few other guests, a businessman dressed in a crisp suit, talking on a Bluetooth headset. A student, papers glazed across the table with a an array of pens, pencils and highlighters. A couple, sitting in one of the booths, they seemed to be fully engaged in conversation, the occasional laugh slipping from their mouths. And then she saw him.

Mike.

 

He was seated in the corner, looking down at the table top and tracing incompetent designs into it with his index finger. 

“Kara, getting your usual?”, one of the baristas from behind the counter called to her. 

“In a minute, I’m actually meeting someone,” her arm extended pointing in Mike’s direction.

Mike’s head shot up and in seeing Kara he stood. She could now see he was wearing a sky blue button up, the top buttons undone enough to see the traces of his chest hair. “What a tease,” Kara thought, mentally rolling her eyes. Her eyes moved lower seeing he had on, once again, very, very, tight jeans, perfectly outlining his lower half.

“Hey Kara,” his smile growing as her name left his mouth.

“Hi Mike.” She hesitated unsure if she should go in for a hug or keep it casual.

“Do you want to order now? Or we can wait a little, whatever you want is fine.” Mike’s cheeks blushed.

“Now is fine.” She decided, “If that’s okay with you.”

They made their way up to the counter, each ordering a coffee. Mike’s a dark roasted black coffee nothing added, Kara’s a medium roast with a little sweetener. Grabbing the mugs from the service counter the two returned to the table Mike had been seated at before. 

They sat, face to face across the small table, shoes accidentally brushing underneath on occasion. Hands resting on mugs or the table, within distance to touch each other but no one made the move. They remained seated like this for hours, simply talking. Talking about everything, family, friends, jobs. It was refreshing to see Mike like this, a complete 180 from the party. He wasn’t closed off and nervous as he had been. He laughed and smile constantly, making jokes and having fully engaged conversations with Kara. Unfortunately before she knew it the meeting, which had definitely become a date somewhere along the way was over. Suddenly the entire date felt like a blur, a haze of conversations and stories but she couldn’t seem to fully wrap her head around it.

Standing up from the table she headed to the door, Mike following behind her. She was ready to say her goodbyes, when Mike spoke.

“Kara… can I walk you home?” His eyes not meeting hers, he stared at his shoes, right arm bent as he scratched the back of his head.

“Of course, sure.” Kara agreed instantly, she wanted as much time with Mike as possible.

For the second time that day, time seemed to be a blur. Next thing she knew they were walking down her apartment hall and stopping in front of her door. She turned to face him, her back inches away from her door. 

“Thank you for today Mike. I had a really nice time.” Kara tiptoed around her wording, she wasn’t sure if Mike had also seen their meeting as a date. 

“Yeah, no worries, I really enjoyed getting to know you more,” he hesitated, appearing to be considering his word choice carefully. “Ever since the party I’ve been dying to do this,” he gestured in between them. 

“Really?” Kara questioned. She was surprised, but also ecstatic.

“Mhmm,” Mike let out a hum, biting his lower lip softly as he slowly stepped towards Kara, nearly pinning her between her door and his body. 

“Me too,” Kara has recognized his movement toward her as he now towered over her small figure. Challenging him, she also moved forward, standing so close that her shoes touched his. 

“Oh” His voice had become soft, like a whisper. His eyes no longer staring back at Kara’s but they shifted between her eyes and her pink lips.

“Oh” Kara replied, she now stood painfully close to Mike, she could feel his breath on the top of her head. Her eyes now mimicking his, shifting between his eyes and lips. 

They stood like this for a second before their eyes met again. 

Mike’s head dipped, his left hand coming up to hold Kara. Four fingers rested on the side of her neck,his thumb rested on her cheek. His lips finding their way to hers. He captured her soft, plump top lip between his. Kara initial surprised by the kiss stumbled backwards, Mike recognizing her stumble, moved with her. His body now pressed against hers, pinned her against the door. She could feel his body, hard and muscular covering hers. His chest and stomach clenching upon coming into contact with her chest. She moved her hands to rest of his side and right shoulder. They remained in a tight lip lock, neither moving their lips, trying to avoid pushing the boundaries too far but not wanting the moment to end. She felt perfect in this moment, his lips fit like a puzzle against hers, she felt happy with his body pushing her up against the door, she felt an incredible high of pure joy and satisfaction come over her body. 

She decided it was time to push the boundaries of this kiss, her inhibitions going out the window. She parted her lips slightly letting her tongue graze his lower lip. She heard him let out a sound, a mix of a moan and whine, feeling it vibrate against her lips. His other hand moving to her lower back, holding her frame against his. He followed her actions, opening his mouth enough to let his tongue meet her lip and her tongue. Both hesitant at first, quick interactions between their tongues before someone would pull back returning the focus to each other’s lips. Kara was sure she had died and gone to Heaven in this moment.

The kiss was suddenly interrupted by a loud shrill. They kiss was broken and suddenly she could no longer feel Mike, or anything. He then faded, along with the hall, turning into black.

Kara’s eyes opened and she let out a groan. 

Shit.

She reached for her phone turning off the shrill that had interrupted her perfect moment, her alarm. She could feel her heart still racing, her cheeks still flushed pink, body believing the kiss was real. There had been no coffee, no conversation, no walk home and there definitely had been no kiss. 

Angry and slightly embarrassed by the dream, Kara buried her face into her pillow. It had been such a good date and kiss, she should’ve known it was too good to be true. She felt stupid, she’s met Mike once and she already dreaming about him pinning her to a wall while making out with her. The last thing she now wanted to do was go talk with Alex about Mike. There was no way she would be able to play it off that she wasn’t interested in him. She knew Alex would be able to tell, she’s Alex. Despite dreading the meeting, Kara pulled herself from underneath the covers, still scolding herself for the dream. She made her way to the shower, reaching to turn it on, hoping it would clear her mind. Only it didn’t, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

She thought about it as she got dressed, putting on the same jeans as she had worn in the dream, her favorite pair. It invaded her mind as she left her apartment, turning to lock the door, she saw where he had pinned her. Walking to the coffee shop, she recalled him walking her home, a brief blur of a memory but still haunting her. And lastly, opening the door to the coffee shop. Remembering scanning the room and finding Mike, only this time she found Alex, thankfully sitting at a different table than in her dream. She waved to Alex, who already had gotten herself a drink, motioning that she would be over once she ordered. 

Grabbing her coffee, the same one from her dream, from the same barista as her dream, she walked to Alex. She sat without a word.

“Hey, Kara, are you okay? You seemed overwhelmed when you walking in here?” Alex was concerned, seeing Kara so quiet and uneasy when she walked through the entrance. 

Kara paused, she didn’t exactly want to tell her sister about the hot dream she had about Winn’s little brother, “uh I guess, yeah, just a lot on my mind,” she had to get over this. 

“Yeah it’s not hard to tell, lucky for you I’m such a great listener I can help. Let’s start with the obvious. Mike.” Alex knew getting Kara to talk was going to be like pulling teeth, she kept to herself more often than not on all matters, especially boys. “What’s happening with him?”

Kara sighed, knowing Alex would eventually pull out every detail and thought she’s had about Mike since they met. “Uh, well…”, this was going to be a long morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave Kudos or Comments. I try to respond to all of them and love hearing the feedback!


	6. Sisterly Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Alex talk about Mike over coffee, and Kara let’s a few too many details slip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the sisterly conversation about Mike. Next chapter will bring back Mike and Winn, you’ll get to see their side of the story.

“Nothing.” Kara stared at the table, coffee mug in hand. “Nothing is happening with Mike.” She knew she was lying and she knew Alex would see right through her.

“Pfff okay, sure, Kara.” Alex rolled her eyes at her sister. “First: you’re a bad liar. Second: you couldn’t keep your eyes off of him the other night. Third: you’re blushing.” A smirk creeped across Alex’s face. She enjoyed teasing Kara, knowing she was embarrassed.

“Ughh. I don’t know, something about him is… captivating. I’ve never had that feeling toward anyone.” Sighing she continued, “it’s not like it matters anyways, I made a fool of myself at the party. Plus he’s Winn’s little brother.”

“What did you do, you know, besides make googly eyes at him the whole time?”

Not wanting to relive the conversation or lack there of conversation between her and Mike, Kara cringed. “I just made a stupid comment about why he was in National City… when I already knew the answer.” 

“Oh please I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as you think it was Kara,” Alex tried her best to reassure her.

“No. It was. It definitely was.” She brought her hands up to her face covering her face of embarrassment.

Alex laughed, she rarely saw Kara this way, flustered and overwhelmed. She had definitely never seen Kara this way about a boy. 

Kara had been in a few relationships in her life. One in high school, two in college but nothing that ever lasted beyond a year. She had never been boy crazy, it seemed Mike was changing that.

“Look, Kara, despite what you said he continued to stare at you the whole night. So I doubt that what you said was detrimental.”

“Really?!” She knew once the word slipped past her lips that it was the wrong response. “Reealllyy?” She said the word again, dragging it out trying to seem less enthused by Alex’s observation. She had noticed his stare once but had convinced herself it was a coincidence. That they just happened to make eye contact at the same time, no staring, not by either of them. 

“Yes, and against my better judgement, I think you should go for it.”

“Huh? Why “against my better judgment”?” Kara air quoted.

“Well,” She didn’t want to ruin her sisters enthusiasm here but Alex knew she had to step in as a big sister, “I mean...he’s Winn’s little brother. Imagine how he would react. Or imagine if things go south between you to in a hypothetical situation. You don’t want to risk losing Winn, your best friend, over this.” Alex could see her sisters face drop, disappointment rising. “And you don’t know him, at all. He seemed a little, I don’t know, distant from reality. You don’t know a single fact about him, besides the fact that he has a good body that you want to jump.”

“Hey!” Kara interrupted, offended by the last comment but knowing it was partly true.

“Look,” Alex places her palms on the table, looking Kara in the eyes. “I know I just told you why it’s a bad idea to follow your little school girl crush but, like I said before, I think you should go for it.” Kara’s eyes widened at this statement, eyebrows raised. “You’ve never take such quick attraction to anyone. You didn’t even blush this much over any of your previous boyfriends, and you actually dated them!”

“Well that’s confusing, do I go after him or not? I thought you wanted to help me talk through this.” Kara whined, feeling just as confused as before she sat down.

“Yes. You go for it, there’s always a chance he’s not interested.”

“Gee thanks,” she shot a glare at her sister

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Alex quickly trying to defend herself, “I just meant with moving, the whole new city thing, maybe he wouldn’t be up for anything right now.”

“Yeah I guess,” she haven’t even thought of that, Alex was probably right. Why would he want the get into a relationship right after moving, why not be the eligible bachelor for a while? She grabbed her mug, tipping it all the way finishing off her coffee.

“But Kara, you never know. And to clarify I’m not encouraging you to jump into bed with him. I just mean get to know him, befriended him, if you will. And then, once you get a feel for who he is, a metaphorical feel not a literal one, you’ll know what you want.” 

“Okay, I can do that, I hope. As long as I don’t let him walk me home.” She had said the last part in a hushed voice, meant for only herself. She giggled a bit recalling the dream of the night before. 

“What do you mean?” a puzzled look crossed Alex’s face. 

Kara froze, mentally kicking herself for even making the comment. “Nothing.” Her face now red and warm.

“Fess up Kara, we both know you did something and I’m going to find out, I always do.” Alex half teased and half threatened her sister.

“I didn't do anything,” making sure to emphasize the I, “but my dream self definitely did.” 

“You had a sex dream about Mike?! Kara are you crazy?!” Alex exclaimed much louder than Kara would have preferred.

“NO! Oh my god Alex. It was just a date. We went and got coffee, which is probably why I seemed overwhelmed when I walk in. And then he offered to walk me home, I said yes and there may have been some kissing against my apartment door.” Her face felt like it was on fire now. “Plus it’s not like I choose to have the dream, it just happened!” Kara tried to defend herself.

“Oh man,” she exhaled, partly relieved at the dream, partly to keep herself from laughing at her sister’s tomato red face. “What are we going to do with you Kara Danvers?”

“I hate you.” Kara’s voice muffled as her head was now placed on her crossed forearms on the table.

“You love me.” Alex was more that pleased with herself. She briefly walked away from the table to toss the napkins and return both her and Kara’s mugs. “But for real if you want to go for it, start slow. And maybe talk to Winn first. He deserves to have a heads up.” 

Kara was now standing, pushing in her chair. “Okay, I’ll think about it. It’s just a lot all at once and I’m not good with this kind of thing.” She grabbed the door, holding it for Alex as they headed out to the sidewalk. 

“Just start slow Kara,” she embraced her sister, “you’ll be fine.” She pulled away. “Let me know if you decide to do anything, or if you decide not to do anything. I love you.”

“I will, I love you. And thank you for the coffee.”

“Always,” Alex turned, headed to her car. Kara turned the opposite way, only making it a few paces before hearing her name behind her. “Wait, Kara,” she tuned to see Alex “want me to walk you home?” She winked at her younger sister, a big grin across her face. 

Kara just rolled her eyes, turned back around and continued walking home. She had a decision to make, or rather a series of decisions to make. Starting with a conversation. She had to decide who to talk to.

Did she start with Winn to clear the air first? 

Or did she talk to Mike first, get a feel for him before she worried Winn? 

She had no idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave Comments or Kudos of you enjoyed the chapter or have feedback! As always thank you for taking your time to read! <3


	7. Going to Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike joins Winn at CatCo for the day, only to find out Kara works there as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have anyone proof read this chapter, I was too eager to finally get something uploaded again. I apologize for any errors.

The days following the party had been anything but eventful for Mike. They consisted of the usual nightmares, unpacking boxes, cooking and staying out of Winn’s way. And thinking of Kara. So maybe the last one wasn’t common but it was happening. 

He didn’t get to talk to her much, he knew that was his own fault. Mike hadn’t been in the mood to talk at the time but he was definitely regretting not making polite conversation with the hostess. Even though their interaction had been short he couldn’t get the image of her out of his head. When she had opened the door, the way her piercing blue eyes had traveled the length of his body before meeting his own grey ones. The way her hair swayed and bounced with every step and movement she made. Even the way the simple grey sweater she had been wearing encased her upper body. The image was engraved into his memory. 

However every memory of her beauty was quickly shattered by the memory of their encounter. She had been nothing but polite and kind, trying to make him feel less excluded. And what had he done? He wrecked it by being an antisocial ass. Of course he didn’t mean to be an ass, he usually wasn’t one. He used to be the life of the party, willing to talk to whoever, whenever about whatever. Since the accident though, that part of Mike had gone missing.

Mike was lost in a string of self critiques that had begun with his behavior towards Kara and had spiraled out of control when a knock came on his bedroom door. 

“it’s open,” he called to who he’d assumed was his brother. The door swung open revealing Winn, half dressed, hair still wet from his morning shower.

“I’m headed to work in a half an hour, want to come?”

“Why do you want me to come to work with you?” Mike found it strange to be invited to someone’s job, he had never invited anyone to work with him. “Won’t I be a distraction?”

“No, my job is pretty laid back, it’s only ever crazy when something breaks or the website goes down. Plus you haven’t seen much of the city since you arrived, it might be good to get out of the house,” He paused. “I mean unless you’d prefer unpacking boxes for another few hours, but I think my offer is more fun.”

Winn was right, it would be good for him to leave the house but, the idea of having to leave the house was anything but enjoyable in Mike’s eyes.

“I’ll throw in lunch too, come on it’ll be fun.” Winn pleaded with his brother.

“Ugh- fine. Sure. I’ll go to work with you.” Mike pushes himself up off the floor, stepped over the piles of clothes and half empty boxes and moved to his closet to get dressed. He wasn’t thrilled to be going but, he couldn’t really reject his brother’s offer. Plus maybe it would be worth the lunch.

Less than twenty minutes later, Winn led Mike to a staggering glass building, CatCo, obviously by the extremely large lettering on the side of the building. Winn scanned his ID getting them through the doors and into a grand lobby. Marble and glass along with diamonds and gold covered nearly every surface. Mike’s eyes scanned the room, if this was just the lobby he was intrigued to see the rest of the building.

Turns out the rest of the building looked like every other office he had ever seen. They arrived on Winn’s floor after a quick elevator ride. The doors opening to a floor with scattered desks and employees. Mike’s eyes caught on the glass wall which seemed to encase an office that matched the elegance of the lobby. 

“That’s Cat’s office,” Winn butted into Mike’s though. He headed over to his own desk, grabbing a chair from the empty desk adjacent to his and motioned for Mike to sit. “This is my desk, I pretty much stare at these screens all day. If something goes wrong I get alerted and deal with it.” 

“What do you do when you don’t have to fix anything?” Mike wasn’t understanding the point of sitting at a desk doing nothing all day.

“I play games or mess around, write code, bug James or Kara-” he broke off his sentence, looking over to the elevator, “and speaking of…” Mike turned to follow Winn’s line of sight to see Kara emerging from the group of people getting off the elevator, coffee in hand. She moved toward her desk which just so happened to be across from Winn’s, only a small isle separated them. 

Of course, Mike mentally groaned. He was now going to have to survive the rest of the day without making a fool of himself or being a complete ass as he had before. Okay so maybe this wasn’t the worst, this could give him a chance to fix his party foul.

“Hey Winn. Mike...” Kara’s voice drifted into his thoughts, “joining Winn today?” Her smile just as inviting as it had been at the party.

“Yep.” He froze not knowing how to follow up his answer, choosing to turn away from her and look back at Winn’s computer monitors. 

As if he wasn’t in an awkward enough position, James came over to Winn at a rather brisk walk. 

“Hey Winn! My camera’s having issues connecting to my computer and I have photos I need to upload for tomorrow’s article. Any chance you’re able to come help me now?” He was in clear distress, fidgeting.

“Yeah, I’ll come take a look,” Winn addressed James before turning to Mike, “I’ll be right back, shouldn’t take more than half an hour.” Mike just nodded, knowing he could survive in this strange office on his own for a while. Winn left without another word, following James down the hall and disappearing. 

It had only been a few minutes since Winn had left and Mike had changed his mind, he didn’t know if he would survive. He was waging a war in his head, more like many mini battles. Go on his phone or just sit and look professional. Play with the toys on Winn’s desk or leave them alone. Check on what Kara is doing or continue to awkwardly look anywhere but her. Apologize to her or pretend he’s a statue and can’t see or hear her. As much as he didn’t want to, he found himself taking a quick glance at Kara. She seemed focused but not to the point where he couldn’t interrupt her. Before he had time to register what was happening, his body turned on autopilot and pushed himself out of the chair and onto his feet. He made the short five step walk from Winn’s desk to her’s.

“Kara-” His voice breaking as he spoke, he quickly cleared his throat hoping she didn’t notice. 

She turned, eyes coming even with his waist before she moved them up to meet his. “Mike. Hi. Can I help you with something?” 

Her damn politeness again, he noted. “Not really no. Uh, I just wanted to apologize for the other night,” he moved his hands into his pockets. A nervous habit. “I was rude and acted like an ass. The party was really nice and I actually had a good time despite how I may have appeared.” He had looked away from her eyes, feeling embarrassed hating himself for deciding to apologize. She giggled. He froze, she was laughing at him. He knew this was a bad idea. 

“No need to apologize Mike. I also was a bit of an ass myself, invading your personal space. I guess it’s just the reporter in me, wanting to know all the information.” Now it was Kara’s chance to cringe at the fact that she had just admitting to wanting to know all about him.

“You’re a reporter? That’s cool.” Mike had worked with many reporters in his past job, they all had been old men. No one he had ever worked with looked like Kara. 

“Yeah, I do a lot of the crime reporting around here. See,” she reached across her desk, grabbing papers and photos “I’m working on report on a shooting from a few days ago, they just uncovered more evidence on it. It’s really fascinating stuff.” She held up the research to Mike. Only Mike seemed to have froze, his eyes locked on the images on the crime scene and evidence. He was stuck. He wanted to tear his eyes away knowing it wouldn’t end well if he didn’t. But he couldn’t he had developed tunnel vision on only the images, unable to look or focus on anything else. 

He jumped, letting out a gasp as a arm was sling across his shoulders. Winn had returned, thankfully pulling Mike from his mental prison. 

“What are you two up to?” He gave a glance between Mike and Kara. 

“Mike was just asking me about my job, since it’s much more interesting that sitting at your computer all day.” Kara said, teasing Winn.

“Well if you’re so much more interesting than I am, maybe I’ll go get lunch by myself and leave you two to fend for yourselves.” Winn teases right back, walking over to his desk to grab his jacket.

“I definitely wouldn’t turn down a lunch offer, I guess we’ll have to go Mike.” Kara joined Winn and Mike on the outside of her desk. 

“Sounds good.” His voice coming out quieter than he had wanted, making him feel insecure once again.

The three made the trip down the elevator and out of the building in silence. An awkward silence to Mike but both Kara and Winn seemed comfortable with the lack of conversation. They walked a few blocks once outside before stopping in front of a burger restaurant. Each taking a turn ordering at the counter before sitting down at a table. Mike was the last to join the table, leaving him with the choice to sit next to Winn but across from Kara or next to Kara but across from Winn. He opted for next to Winn. It felt more appropriate. Winn and Kara were quick to strike up conversation, catching each other up on office drama. They had only been sitting for a few minutes when Winn’s phone rang. 

“I’ll be right back,” He stood up answering the call.

“I think it was work.” Mike said.

“Mhmm” Kara hummed in agreement.

“Fuck I’m sorry guys, the website crashed and Cat needs me back at the office to fix it.” Winn ran his hands through his hair before grabbing his food and packing it up. Mike began to follow suit, grabbing a to-go container. “No, no. You guys stay here. You don’t need to cut your lunch short because of me. Stay, enjoy your meal. Plus I’ll probably be back before you’re done eating anyways.” 

The idea of being left with Kara alone made Mike begin to sweat. “Are you sure?” He tried to hint to his brother than he didn’t want to stay here alone. 

“Yeah don’t worry about it Mike, plus it’s not like either of you would be of much help back there.” He grabbed his stuff and headed for the door abandoning Mike at the table with Kara. Before fully exiting the restaurant, he turned back to Mike giving him a wink before slipping into the street. Mike’s mind stuttered. There was no way he winked. He must have imagined that. Maybe Winn had something in his eye. He did not wink. Winking would imply he wanted to leave Mike there with Kara, that he was helping his brother get closer to his best friend. That definitely wasn’t true. Was it?

Kara cleared her throat breaking the silence. Mike turned around peeling his eyes from the door. Feeling like a deer in headlights upon turning around he forced a smile. 

“So, I guess this gives us both a chance to make up for our ass-ness at the party right?” She laughed to herself as she spoke. 

“Yeah I guess so,” He follows up, letting himself laugh briefly. 

“So Mike… tell me about yourself.” She started before placing her straw between her lips. 

Had this just become a date? Mike wondered to himself and he sat staring at Kara across the table from himself, because it suddenly felt like it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Is this a date or not? Let me know what you think! Feel free to leave Kudos or Comments. I love reading all the feedback!


	8. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Mike are left alone after Winn rushes to work. How will they spend their first afternoon together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for abandoning this story. Finals season made me crazy. Now that’s over so I’ll try and update weekly. I PROMISE!

Winn smiled to himself as he left the restaurant and entered the crowded street. There had been no phone call, no emergency, no need to leave lunch. He wasn’t stupid, he had seen the glances across the room between Kara and Mike at the party. He had noticed the blush that came across Mike’s cheeks when he casually brought up Kara later that night. Did he set an alarm to go off shortly into their lunch to force them to talk? Maybe. But can you blame him?

*****  
“I don’t know if there is much you don’t know about me. Winn’s probably covered everything, crazy father, stressed out mother. Not much more to know.” A twinge of past pain flickered across Mike’s face.

“Right.” Kara kicked herself again, she kept making these conversations uncomfortable, she was trying but not well. “Uh, then what about after that? I know Winn went off to college, what did you do?”

“I fled. Joined the police department in Atlanta and that’s where I’ve been since.” He released a deep breath, “Until now obviously.”

Police officer, no wonder he’s so fit. So maybe that shouldn’t be what Kara was focused on right now but she was. “That’s cool.” As if she couldn’t say anything dumber. “Why law enforcement, if you don’t mind me asking?” The last thing she wanted to do was step on his toes again.

“My father. Everyone always assumes that if you’re parents are terrible people, you’re bound to be one too. I wanted to prove them wrong.” 

“I would say you’ve succeeded in that.” She couldn’t help but smile, she felt proud of him. It felt stupid but she couldn’t help it.

Mike remained silent and just shrugged. He brought his eyes over from the wall they had been glued to, to Kara. “What about you, Kara?” He enjoyed the way her name rolled off his tongue. 

“I’ve been here as long as I can remember. I was adopted by the Danvers when I was a baby and lived with them and my sister Alex until college. Now I live in the city and work at CatCo,” she paused, “which you already knew, you’ve been to my apartment and we were just at CatCo. Sorry.” 

“You’re fine. No need to apologize.” Mike stood up, grabbing his own garbage. “Are you finished?” Mike held out his hand, offering to take away hers as well.

“Yes, thanks.” She handed her tray to him. Her fingertips brushing the back to his hand briefly. A smile creeped onto her face and she saw the same on his before he quickly turned. Kara watched as he walked away, but can you blame her, he’s got a good butt. 

She felt her phone vibrate, pulling it from her pocket she saw a message from Winn.   
Winn: I convinced Ms Grant to give you the rest of the day off. Have fun, but not too much fun. ;)

Mike returned, standing next to Kara instead of by his seat. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah. Uh, Cat gave me the rest of the day off.” She shut her phone off and looked up to Mike. She knows Winn gave her the day off to hang out with him. She didn’t want to be too forward. What is he wanted to go back to the office with Winn? Maybe he was just being polite during lunch. 

She had the day off. That means she was free for the rest of the afternoon. Now Mike had a dilemma. Is she expecting him to go back to Winn? She wouldn’t have told him she had the day off if she didn’t want him to know, right? And I’m going crazy he admitted to himself. 

“Has Winn given you the tour of National City?” Kara tried her best to subtly offer a continuation to their date. 

“Not a good one.” Mike let out a chuckle. “He gave me the quick version on the ride from the airport to his home.” He placed his hands back in his pockets, taking a deep breath before finishing, “I could use a better one though.”

“You’re free now aren’t you?” Her heart raced as she left the decision up to Mike.

Mike’s mouth went dry as his brain froze. She had asked him out. She wanted to spend more time with him. Kara wanted to spend her afternoon showing him around. “Yes.” He croaked before coughing. “That would be great.” He finished after recovering from his startle.

Kara followed Mike out of the restaurant. His gentlemen like tendencies apparent as he walked ahead of her to hold the door. 

They headed down the street, back towards CatCo. Kara knew more than anyone should about National City. She could find her way around the city blindfolded, it felt nice to be able to show how much she loved this city.

They continued zig zagging through the concrete jungle. Kara pointed out her favorite restaurants, favorite shops, the bar she always went. Mike followed, relatively quiet, taking everything in with wide eyes. He laughed along as Kara continued on telling stories about various locations. The corner where she had found out she got into college, the restaurant where she had her sixteenth birthday party, the park bench where she had her first kiss. He watched her with fascination as she told these stories. Laying her life out as a map of the city. It seemed like she had a story and memory for every block. 

Mike wanted that. He wanted to have a place that was his home, that held his life. He felt guilty but he desperately wanted to make himself one of those special memories in Kara’s mind. The tour had been amazing, the only issue was Mike had been watching Kara. He hadn’t been paying attention to where they were or where the we’re going. His focus was on her face, her hair or her back as she led the way in front of him. The city became a unfocused background. 

“And this is easily my favorite part of the city.” Kara turned back to look at Mike, her eyes instantly meeting his.

Seeing Kara’s gaze, Mike looked around. They had arrived at a waterfront. A beautiful area, off from the bustle of the city, peaceful. The water was calm, only a sudden pick up in wind disrupted it. 

“This is peaceful.” 

“It’s where I come when I need a break. It’s a good escape from reality and it’s never too busy.” Kara remembered all the times she had come down to the water. After any fight with her parents or Alex, after she thought she had failed an exam. After her childhood friend Kenny had passed away. It had become her safe haven.

“I can see why.” Mike again was watching Kara. Her eyes were glued to the water. He watched as she shivered, the temperature had dropped and the wind picked up. Her arms crossed over her chest, keeping herself warm. 

Mike unzipped his jacket, sliding it off his shoulders and down his arms. He held it out to Kara. “Here, take my jacket.” 

“Oh no, I couldn’t. Then you’ll be cold.” She couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. 

“Take it Kara, I can tell you’re cold.” He shook it at her.

“Fine.” She tried to be serious, her smile breaking though, “but only because you’re making me.” Putting emphasis on “making”.

She swiped the jacket from his hand and slid her arms into the sleeves. The jacket was a bit large on Kara, the sleeves hanging well beyond her fingertips and the bottom extending midway down her thighs. Not that she minded, it felt nice to be covered in his jacket. It blocked out the cold and wind. Not to mention it smelled like him. A crisp smell of wood and vanilla flooded her nose.

Within seconds of the jacket covering Kara’s upper body, the sky opened up and rain began to fall. Mike’s eyes widened and his mouth formed into and O. He turned to Kara who was already laughing. 

“And with that I would like to conclude today’s tour of National City.” She managed to get out between fits of laughter. They remained in the rain, both laughing at their situation. “My apartment isn’t far from here, we can go dry off, if you want.” 

“That’d be nice.” 

Mike followed as Kara led the way back to her apartment. He watched as her hair became darker with rain, much like his own. Hers losing its curls while his fell down sticking to his forehead. Both drenched head to toe as they sped through the city together. Sure this wasn’t the circumstance of which he wanted to go back to Kara’s apartment after a date but he’ll take it regardless. 

As they walked into the lobby of her apartment Kara couldn’t help but think of her dream. When she arrived at her door she fumbled for her keys, and began unlocking the door before Mike interrupted.

“Kara,” he started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and sticking with this story. I appreciate all feedback and comments!


	9. Kara’s Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being caught in the rain Mon-el and Kara find themselves back in Kara’s Apartment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters this week! Thought it would be a good way to make up for abandoning this story. Hope you enjoy!

She turned to see Mike. Instantly she was transported back in her dream, his body inches from hers, her back against the door frame. She couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering up his body, pausing at his lips. They were so pink, soft like pillows.

“Here.” Kara snapped her eyes away from his lips and to his eyes that were looking down at his hand. His arm was stretched, reaching for her. In his hand a pen, her lucky pen. Alex has given it to her along with a journal when she went to college. “You dropped this when you grabbed your keys.”

Kara felt her face begin to burn, the redness creeping up her face. She thought he was going to kiss her, how stupid. She gave a quick smile and grabbed the pen from his hand. “Thanks.” She returned her attention to unlocking the door which had become much more difficult with her embarrassment. When the door finally swung open she scanned the room quickly making sure she had tidied the place before leaving for work this morning. It wasn’t as clean as it had been for the party. There were dishes in the sink and some laundry folded in a basket on the floor. Sure it is not the most perfect, but at least those clothes were clean.

“I’m going to go change. Feel free to use the bathroom, it’s just around the corner. There should be some towels if you want to dry off a bit.” She pointed the room out to him before heading to her bedroom. She searched around for any clothes that would fit Mike, it didn’t seem fair that she would get to be comfortable and dry and he would be stuck in his wet clothes. She manages to dig up a pair of sweatpants she had ordered years ago, they had arrived three sizes too big, way too big for Kara’s small figure but probably adequate for Mike. She threw the pants on the bed before going back to her drawer to find something for herself.

Mike walked into the bathroom, giving it a look as he didn’t use the bathroom the other night when he was over. It was simple, fitting with the rest of the apartment. A frosted glass shower, toilet, sink, towel rack and a fuzzy blue rug covered most of the floor. He grabbed one of the folded towels from the rack and began to dry his hair and face. There wasn’t much he could do about his shirt and pants which were entirely soaked through. He felt bad that he was dipping water everywhere in her apartment. He was lost in drying his hair, enjoying the flowery smell that came from Kara’s detergent when she knocked on the door. 

He opened it to see Kara. A gasp almost escaped his mouth as he saw her. She had changed, as she said she would. Gone was the business attire and in its place comfortable pajamas. Her legs were covered by grey sweatpants and topped with a light blue t-shirt that hung loosely off her right shoulder. She had taken her hair down, it now fell sporadically around her face. She looked beautiful, sure it wasn’t the formal wear from earlier but something about the pajamas was so much better. Mike knew he was staring, he couldn’t help it. She looked so cozy in her pajamas and so small as she had to literally tilt her head to look him in the eyes. 

Kara noticed the staring this time. The way his eyes grazed her entire body head to toe, taking in her new outfit. The way his eyes froze for a minute over the exposed skin on her shoulder and collarbone before continuing up her neck. The way his eyes were now locked on hers as he looked down, his mouth slightly parted before his tongue shot out to wet his lower lip and pull it between his teeth. 

“Here.” She said, exactly as he had earlier. Her arm held out the sweatpants to him. “If you want to wear these, I ordered them and they were way too big, no one else has worn them.” She had to tell the story, she didn’t want Mike thinking they were some other guys pants that had been left here. “I think they’ll fit.” She made a quick glance down to his pants, they had been tight before but because of the rain the fabric clung to his legs and waist, outlining every muscle. “I couldn’t find a shirt, sorry. I think all of mine would be a bit too tight.”

“That’s okay, this one’s starting to dry.” He tapped his hand on his chest. He grabbed the black sweats from her hand, “thanks,” before closing the door to change. He peeled his jeans off, turning them right side out. He looked down at his boxers, they were damp from the rain as well but he decided it would be inappropriate to go commando at someone else’s apartment even if the wet fabric was clinging to his skin. Mike then grabbed for the sweats, sliding them up to his waist. They fit surprisingly well. He tied the waist before grabbing his pants, opening the door and crashing into Kara. Her hand ending up on his chest and she tried to stop their collision.

“Sorry,” Mike stammered when he realized what had happened. 

“Oh no, it’s my fault. I was waiting to see if you wanted me to put your clothes in my dryer.” 

“Sure,” He handed her his pants.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to dry your shirt? It feels,” realizing her one hand was still resting on his chest, she pulled it away “uh, it felt, wet still.”

Mike paused, the shirt was uncomfortable. The wet fabric suctioning to his body, restricting his movements. Any normal person would take it off, escape the dampness and be shirtless. But Mike knew he couldn’t, he wasn’t ready. “It’s okay, thanks though.” 

“Okay I’ll be right back, to make yourself comfortable on the couch.” Kara gave his chest one last glance, knowing that shirt can’t be comfortable and turned to go dry the clothes.

She returned to the living space to find Mike sitting on the floor, legs splayed in front of him, his arms behind his back palms on the floor supporting his upper body.

She couldn’t help but laugh, “Why are you on the floor?”

“My shirt is still a bit damp,” he looks away before finishing, “And my boxers. I don’t want to get your couch wet.”

“It’s fine Mike, it’s water it will dry.” She said patting the spot next to her on the couch. “Come sit.” 

Mike hesitated before getting up, she did invite him to sit. It would be rude to reject her offer. He sat down, close enough that he could reach her but far enough that he wasn’t invading her personal space. 

Kara stood from the couch and walked over to her refrigerator. “Would you like anything? Water? Soda? Alcohol? Although it is a bit early.”

Mike would be lying if he said that alcohol sounded like the best choice right now, something to take the edge off his nerves. But it definitely felt inappropriate. “Just water is great.” As he admired her from a distance, the light from the fridge making her hair glow more than usual.

After some rummaging and opening and closing of cabinets Kara returned with two cups and a bowl of popcorn. “All the walking made me hungry.” She said justifying the enormous bowl. She set it between them, noticing Mike had covered his legs with the red blanket that had been sitting on the arm of the couch. He looked so cozy and soft sitting there. His hair misplaced across his forehead. A blush on his cheeks, maybe wind burn from earlier. Removing her eyes from his face Kara grabbed the remote and began flipping through the channels. She paused when The Wizard Of Oz popped up. 

“Ohh! I love this movie, it’s one of the first movies I remember seeing!” She gushed.

“I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it all the way through.”

“What?!” She clapped her hand over his right shoulder. She noticed his initial jump with her touch, his shoulders becoming tense before he quickly relaxed. “Well you’re about to,” she teased. “We can’t do this without you seeing this movie.” Kara removed her hand from his shoulder to gesture between their bodies.

“Sounds good.” Mike replied but his mind was not the least bit focused on the movie. “We can’t do this without you seeing this movie” Kara’s words rattled in his mind. What was “this”? She probably meant their friendship, who was he kidding. He tried to return his attention the the movie, it was her favorite after all. 

“We can’t do this…” How stupid was she? Kara was panicking. She should’ve just said friends, they can’t be friends. How hard would that have been? But she didn’t want to stick him in the friend zone. Except at this point, she thought, that might have been better, she probably freaked Mike out. They’ve known each other for less than a week. There was no “this”. Did she want a “This”? Maybe. 

“Stupid.” She accidentally muttered, not realizing the word left her mouth.

“Huh?” Mike turned back to face her, forehead crinkled, one eyebrow cocked. 

“Oh, nothing.” She said with a smile, trying to reassure him that she hadn’t said anything.

“Okay, whatever you say.” His eyes squinted for a second before he turned back to the movie but not before giving her a wink. 

Kara just about died. He winked. At her. Mike winked at her. No part of that is friendly. That’s flirty. And she had thought she had panicked plenty before. Just watch the movie, she told herself, ignore him, pretend he’s invisible. And she tried. But it was hard to pretend he didn’t exist when she could see his face in her peripheral vision. The way he smiled at the happy moments, sometimes showing his teeth but always his dimples. She couldn’t stop noticing him. Internally sighing, because she wasn’t making that mistake twice, she grabbed the edge of the blanket and brought it over her legs. She extended her legs incredibly slow until she felt her feet graze the fabric of his sweats and inched her feet back.

Mike had heard heard her say “stupid” for all he knows she was calling him stupid. He decided it was better to forget it and go back to the movie. His body however had other plans just as it had earlier when he walk up to Kara at work. He winked. He couldn’t help but feel proud and completely embarrassed at the same time as he turned his attention back to the movie. That might have been a bit too forward. He waited a minute and when Kara gave no reaction he assumed maybe she hadn’t noticed the wink, or maybe she didn’t care. Mike finally felt himself fall back into the movie plot when he noticed the blanket being moved. He felt the ever so slight, dainty pressure of her feet on the sweatpants that covered his thigh before the feeling was removed. Turning, he looked at her, refusing to make eye contact Kara kept her eyes glued to the screen. Her legs were bent slightly in a position that couldn’t be comfortable. 

Fuck it, Mike thought. He let his hands slip under the blanket and found Kara’s ankle. He lightly scooped her left leg up, not wanting to startle her too much and straightened it before placing it across his own thigh. When she didn’t protest he followed suit with her right leg. Mike pulled his hands out from the blanket, letting them rest back in his lap, now his right forearm rested across Kara’s ankles. He now turned to her again. This time his eyes met hers, a smile now radiating from her face. Mike simply returned the smile, before turning back around. His smile grew to a comical size when he was no longer facing her, hiding his level of happiness from her. Little did he know she did just the same, her smile growing from a tight lipped one to one showing her teeth, making her eyes crinkle in the corners. It was Mike who now let out a sigh, not one of anger or frustration, one of content and satisfaction.

It’s official, he thought, this was definitely at date now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the kiss tease! I can promise it will happen but I can’t promise that it’ll be soon. Who knows? :)
> 
> As always thank you for reading! Feel free to leave Kudos or comments!


	10. The Walk Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The movie comes to an end and with it Kara and Mike's day together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's an extra long chapter just because. (When I say long I mean for me, and in comparison to the other chapters, I know its still relatively short at 3k words.) Enjoy!

As the credits began to crawl across the screen neither Kara nor Mike made a move. Both were comfortable, trying to enjoy the moment, the two of them on the couch. Kara felt more relaxed than she had in weeks, her legs still stretched across Mike’s. He had slid down a bit during the movie as he relaxed. Her feet now resting across his hips and lower abdomen, his arms still holding them tight. Something about using him as a human pillow was incredibly nice. Not that Mike could argue. The weight of her legs in his lap was something new but it felt comfortable, safe. It had been so long since he had experienced something like this. Someone else's body close to his, feeling their weight, their heat, their every movement and twitch. Mike continued to stare ahead, watching the text scroll, he wasn’t about to be the one to ruin this for himself. He couldn't help but think Kara was doing the same. Their moment of bliss ended shortly after the movie as the dryer let out a song, telling Kara the clothes she had began was complete. 

“Your pants.”

Mike tore his eyes from the screen as Kara’s voice broke him out of his trance. “What?” He wasn't sure what she meant by “your pants”.

“The dryer.” She failed to form a coherent sentence. “Your pants. And jacket.” She lifted her arm in the direction of the dryer which had begun to repeat the song. “They're probably done- uh- dry.” Kara was flustered to say the least, all because she had her legs on him. 

“Oh, yes. Right. My pants.” Mike struggling just as much to organize his thoughts.

Kara began to move her legs, being careful not to accidentally kick him as she maneuvered her feel out from under Mike’s arms and the blanket. She lifted the blanket up, leaving Mike covered, and slid herself off the couch. She gave a quick glance down at Mike, a smile growing across her face as she noticed him fidgeting with his hands. That seemed to be a nervous habit of his, he had fidgeted the other night with this drink, earlier with the zipper of his jacket and now with his own hands. Not wanting to see her staring Kara turned away heading in the direction of the dryer.

Mike wanted to groan at the loss of contact with Kara, but he managed to restrain himself. He really had wanted to hold her there, keep her with him. He wanted to grab her legs as she had moved them away, grab her hand as she stood up, pulling her back down next to or onto himself. He wanted to feel her weight again, feel her body heat against his, feel the comfort she had brought him. But he couldn’t. No, it was too soon, that didn't keep the thoughts from happening though. Turning his attention elsewhere, Mike began picking at a callous on his hand where his pinky finger met his palm.

It had been less than a minute when Kara returned, standing by the couch a pile of clothes in her arms. She placed it on the couch beside Mike and dug through it pulling out his jeans and jacket. 

“I'll go change-” he started as he stood up from the couch, leaving the warmth of the blanket behind. He took a few steps from the couch.

“You don't have to.” Kara interrupted him, causing Mike to turn back to face her with a confused look on his face. “I mean you can stay in the sweatpants, you can keep them. I have no use for them.” 

“Are you sure?” He didn’t want to just take the pants she had bought.

“Yeah, they were free anyways since the company sent me the wrong ones. I just took them out of the package for the first time today.” She turned back to the pile of clothes grabbing something that sat on top. “These are yours too, they were in your pockets.” She held out a wallet and phone to Mike. He turned the phone over to see a few message and missed calls, most from Winn.

“I should probably make my way home.” he held the phone out to Kara, “Winn seems to be a bit concerned.”

“I should walk you.” Kara was quick to jump at the opportunity she saw. “I mean you still don't know your way and it's not a far walk.”

“I’d like that.” Suddenly feeling too forward Mike added, “It's better than getting lost. I'll text Win to let him know.”

They left the comfort of Kara’s apartment a few minutes later and entered the now still and cloudless night. The pair walked together, still in their sweatpants, this time in silence. Thankfully the lack of conversation was filled with the sounds of the city, preventing an uncomfortable void in noise.

Mike was too busy arguing with himself to even notice the silence. They were walking nearly side by side, he trailed her by a half a step. He could grab her hand. That might be too much for today, but he wanted to. He was desperate to feel her fingers laced in his. In the constant battle in his mind he found himself reaching for her hand a few times before he would stop himself. His fingertips getting millimeters from hers before he would yank his hand back as the other side of the argument became stronger. It wasn't until minutes later that he had convinced himself to do it. Just as he had with her legs earlier, just go for it. That was until he realized he was walking up the all familiar driveway and up to the porch of Winn’s- his home. 

They both stopped just before the door, not wanting to end their night quite yet. 

“Thank you for today Kara. I had a really nice time.” Wow, Mike thought, could he have said anything more cliche? “At least now you know I'm not an anti-social asshole all the time.” That made both of them laugh. Mike watched as her eyes creased as she laughed, her shoulders with a slight shake to them.

“Of course, I think it's safe to say I like today’s Mike a lot more than party Mike.” She held out her arms instinctively. Kara was a hugger, she hugged when she greeted people and when she said goodbye, she couldn't help it. Lucky Mike didn't hesitate before leaning into her arms. His chest coming into contact with hers as her arms wrapped around the middle of his chest. His strong arms wrapped around her neck lightly. Letting herself go for a split second Kara rested her head onto his shoulder, breathing in his scent which now had a hind of her laundry detergent mixed into it. Mike’s head rested on the side of Kara’s being too tall to rest his chin on her shoulders as she did with hers.

The hug lasted a second too long to just be a goodbye hug. Both pulled away slowly not daring to step back. Mike kept his head hung, keeping it close to Kara as she looked up slightly bringing her face even closer to his. Mike’s eyes were fixed on Kara’s lips, so bright, soft and inviting. He noticed her eyes moving in a flickered pattern: up to his eyes, down to his lips and back up. Noticing this pattern he brought his eyes up to meet hers on one of their trips back up, causing Kara to freeze, staring back at him. He watched as her eyes closed and she began to lean into him. He followed suit, letting his eyes flutter close and moving toward her. The distance between them was small to start but it felt like it was taking years for the gap to close and their lips to meet. Mike couldn’t help but feel as if he had been put in slow motion.

That was until he heard the front door open. His eyes shot open, meeting Kara’s equally surprised eyes as they both jumped backwards in a less than discreet manner. 

“Oh,” They both turned to see a stunned Winn. His look of shock quickly turned into one of amusement as he realized what he had just interrupted. The start of a laugh escaped his lips as his hand clamped over his mouth. “I thought i heard talking out here, just wanted to make sure everything is okay. I'll just close this door and let you two get back to that…” His eyebrows putting emphasis on “that”, giving a quick wink to both Kara and Mike before closing the door, his laugh still heard on the porch. 

As much as he wanted to go right back to the moment before Winn had interrupted, Mike knew that wasn't going to be happening, the moment was gone.

Kara had now wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she could drown in her own embarrassment to escape this situation. Her best friend had just witnessed her almost kiss his younger brother. She had to get out of there before she imploded. “I'll see you around I guess. Mike.” She tried to bring herself to look him in the eye but she just couldn’t. 

“Yep. Bye, Kara.” Mike moved his hand to the door turning the handle letting the door slowly open.

“Bye Mike.” She waited until she head the door close before heading down, off the porch and back onto the path back home. She did the only thing she knew to do when she felt so confused and lost, she called Alex.

“Alex, hi. I'm going to need you to meet me at my place, please.” She didn't want to make the call longer than it had to be, hanging up as soon as she heard her sister agree to be there when she got back.

Mike wanted nothing more than to avoid his older sibling that night, unfortunately he knew that was never going to happen. The second he closed the door behind him Winn came scurrying from the kitchen into the doorway. “Soooo?” He questioned his younger brother, he partially wanted to embarrass him more but he was also genuinely interested on his brothers afternoon with his best friend. 

“Soooo, nothing Winn.” His pent up frustration of being so close to kissing Kara was now coming out. “You killed the mood.” His voice elevated near a yell. “And now I'll probably never get the chance to finish what we started because of you!” A shade of red present on his face, half still from embarrassment, the rest from anger. 

“I’m sorry Mike, I wasn't trying to be a cockblock, believe me if I had known you were doing what you were doing I would have just left the door closed.” Winn tried to defend himself. “You wouldn't have even had the day with her if it wasn't for me!” He let his secret slip hoping it would help his case with Mike.

He saw Mike’s face soften. “What do you mean?”

“I faked the emergency at lunch today. The network was fine, I never had to fix anything.” He sighed. “I saw the way you and Kara had interacted at the party, the weird staring and the way you would blush every time I mentioned her after that night, the sheer panic in you eyes when you saw her walk into CatCo this morning. It’s really not difficult to realize you were interested in her. So, I faked the emergency to force you to talk.” He took a deep breath, recovering from the small yelling fit he had just had before continuing. “And then, I got Ms. Grant to give Kara the rest of the afternoon off. Which I'll have you know took a lot of convincing. So yeah. You would have never had your little date had it not been for me.” Winn now felt himself boiling with anger for no real reason. “You're welcome.” He added wanting to prove his point. 

Mike was speechless. His brother who he had barely spoken to before suddenly asking to move in had gone out of way to set him up. To set him up with his best friend. “Thank you.” He didn’t know what else to say. “Sorry I yelled.” The guilt of yelling beginning to set in.

“I’m sorry too, for yelling and interrupting you and Kara earlier.” He did feel genuinely guilty for ruining his little brother’s kiss but he still had to hold back laughter as he remembered the frightened looks he had gotten from both Kara and Mike. “Want to tell me about the rest of your day with her and whose pants those are?” Mike smiled, nodding his head before heading toward the kitchen.

“I think I'm going to need a drink first.”

*******

“Alex,” Kara cried as she poured two glasses of wine, “you don't understand. That was easily the most embarrassing moment of my life.” She was ready to slam her head down onto the counter. “Winn, my best friend, saw me almost kissing his little brother. Do you realize how awkward the rest of my life is going to be now? How am I ever supposed to go to work again?” She grabbed the glasses moving over to the couch she had been sharing with Mike just an hour before and handed Alex the wine. 

“Okay, let's not be dramatic Kara.” She lifted the glass to her lips, taking a sip. “I’m pretty sure this will not kill you. Plus I’m sure Mike is freaking out to Winn just as much as you are to me right now.”

“I am not freaking out Alex. I'm just frustrated.” Kara huffed as she took another sip of her wine, already a sip away from finishing her glass.

“Sure you're not honey.” She said in a sarcastic tone as she patted her sister on the shoulder. “Seriously, I'm sure this will blow over, how was the rest of your afternoon with Mike?”

“Great. Not that it matters now. We had lunch with Winn but he had to leave because of an emergency at CatCo so it left Mike and I alone. I then offered to give him a tour of the city since I know my way around and he’s only been here a few days.” She finished off the glass of wine, placing the empty cup on the table with slight aggression. “We walked around for an hour or so. He gave me his jacket when I got cold by the waterfront,” A smile appeared on her lips as she remembered his gesture. “And then it down poured, so I brought him back here to dry off.” She noticed her sisters eyebrows raising in a suggestive look. “Stop that. Nothing happened. We just watched a movie and he did this cute thing with my legs, he let me rest them on his legs. Well he didn’t let me, he kinda made me.” She paused before quickly adding, “Not that I had a problem with it. He just moved my legs to rest on his since I was too scared to do it myself.” Kara’s voice sped up as she told the story of their brief cuddle realizing it was a bit too much information to share. 

“That's what I’m talking about Kara, you guys seemed to have had a pretty good time the entire rest of the day. There's no way the incident with Winn is going to overshadow that.” Alex was trying her best to calm Kara. She had never seen her sister so worked up over anyone before, not even her past boyfriends. It was very clear she had fallen hard and fast for Mike. “You should try to set up another date with him.”

“I don’t know Alex, what if he doesn't want to see me again?”

“Fine, don’t text him. You're going to have to see him next week when we go for the Fourth of July party, since Winn’s going I’m sure Mike will too.” Alex added making sure her sister knew she couldn’t avoid him forever. “Maggie’s here to pick me up.” She stood from the couch and made her way to the door before giving Kara a hug. “You’ll survive, I promise. I love you.” she whispered to her sister. “Maybe text him.” She quickly yelled as she walked out the door. 

After the emotionally draining day Kara had experienced she moved into her bathroom to shower. It was rushed, not letting herself enjoy the warmth of the water as she just wanted to climb into bed. She changed into pajamas, different than the ones she had worn with Mike since she had worn those on their walk to his house. Grabbing her phone she noticed a message from an unknown number on her screen.

Unknown: Thank you for the tour and hospitality today. It was the most fun I’ve had since moving to National City. Unfortunately I realized I never paid for the touring services you provided me. ;) Maybe I could make up for that payment through a cup of coffee and a doughnut sometime? -Mike :)

Kara felt butterflies in her stomach, a warmth washing over her body as she read his text. He did want to see her again. Mike wanted to take her out again. She typed back quickly.

Kara: Thanks for letting me share my extreme love and knowledge of this city with you. Today was also some of the most fun I’ve had in awhile. I’ll just have to double check with the manager over here but i think coffee and a doughnut is suitable payment. :)

She added his contact into her phone, changing the unknown number to his name. Knowing she would never go to sleep if she kept responding to his messages she turned her phone off, making herself wait to see his reply until the morning. She fell into bed with a smile, maybe today hadn’t been ruined as she previously thought. She drifted off to sleep, trying to imagine what the kiss with Mike would have been like had Winn not interrupted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry about the kiss tease. I just couldn't help myself! 
> 
> As always thank you for reading! Feel free to leave Kudos or Comments!


	11. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Mike go about their days after the "date". Kara is questioned by Cat about her absence from work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note before this chapter, it switches perspective more than my other chapters as I wanted to show Kara and Mike's simultaneous actions and reactions. I indicated each perspective change by using ***. That's all, enjoy!

Kara woke up with a smile on her face to her alarm ringing. Sure she didn’t want to wake up and go to work but the fresh memories of Mike brightened her mood. Turning over she reached for her phone, she couldn’t help but frown as she noticed the only text she had was from Alex reminding her to get something to bring for the Fourth of July party. Mike hadn’t texted her back, not that she needed a response. Her text had been simple, she shouldn’t have expected any reply.

Pulling herself from the covers she headed to the bathroom. The same bathroom that less than 24 hours ago Mike had been in. The same bathroom doorway in which he had bumped into her. Kara’s hand twitched as if trying to remember the feeling of his strong chest under her palm. Feeling overwhelmed by the simple memory of Mike, Kara made her way to the shower hoping to clear her mind for the day of work ahead.

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. As she moved to her dresser she couldn’t help but notice the outfit she had worn yesterday still folded in a pile. She had never been a huge fan of the shirt, a simple button up, it was rather boring. Now a sudden admiration of the shirt had been formed due to the memories it held. Realizing her distraction again Kara rolled her eyes at herself and reached for a lightweight blue sweater and black pants. 

There was no way she was going to survive this day.

***

Mike had woken up in a frantic sweat as he had every day recently. He quickly stabilized himself as he realized he was now awake and safe. Seconds had passed before Winn came, slamming the door ajar. 

“Are you okay?” His eyes wide as they scanned the room before settling on his younger brother.

“Yeah.” Mike’s voice croaked. He quickly pulled the bed sheet up covering his sweat soaked shirt. 

“You were screaming.” Winn continued, not sure if he was stating a fact or asking for elaboration.

“Oh,” Mike shifted, “nightmares,” he finished not wanting to elaborate. 

“Mike you should maybe consider talking to someone abo-”

“No,” Mike’s voice now harsh, “it’s not an issue, I’m perfectly fine. Please leave, go back to bed.” He had glanced at the clock and realized it was before Winn would be getting up for work, meaning he had woken him up as well as himself. 

Knowing his brother was a headstrong person, Winn decided to save this fight for later when he had a few more hours of sleep. “Fine.” He turned to leave grabbing the door to close it behind him. Winn gave one last glance at his brother before closing the door. Mike was now sitting head in his hands, a slight shake to his body as he sat there silent. The blanket had slid down revealing his shirt, Winn was positive had previously been a light grey, that was now a shade darker. Sweat. Winn’s mind registered. He tore himself away and closed the door before Mike could see him staring. 

He knew his brother had been dealing with some issues since moving in with him. That was the whole reason he left Atlanta for National City in the first place, he couldn’t be there any longer. But seeing his brother, who he felt he was supposed to protect bent over silently crying wrenched his stomach. Mike had just been so joyful as he told the story of his and Kara’s day together. To see him change literally overnight was heartbreaking. Winn headed back to his bedroom in hopes of getting back to sleep. He lay awake staring at the ceiling suddenly able to hear Mike from a few rooms away. His cries now audible. They continued for a few more painful minutes before Winn heard a door open and footsteps move across the house. Knowing Mike had calmed himself down was reassuring enough for Winn at the early hour and he finally let himself drift back to sleep.

After changing shirts and collecting himself, Mike staggered into the living room. He slumped onto the couch already exhausted from his nightmare and turned on the television. Mindlessly Mike flopped through channels, finding nothing that peaked his interest. Settling on a news channel, he rolled over facing the back of the couch and tried to go back to sleep, hoping this time the background noise would somehow protect him from his own mind.

Thankfully, the news channel seemed to help at least for a bit. Mike woke up for the second time, not drenched in sweat, as he heard motion in the kitchen. Looking over he saw Winn all dressed and ready for work. 

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Winn asked as he glanced up from packing his briefcase.

“No,” he lied, not wanting to make Winn feel bad, “headed to work?”

“Yeah, is invite you again but you really should stay here and rest,” he replied before adding, “plus I can’t have you distracting my co-workers all day again.” Winn smirked as he looked across the room to Mike. 

“Who did I distract...” Mike mumbled to himself before it clicked in his mind. Kara. He had nearly forgotten about yesterday after the night he had. Standing up quickly from the warmth of the couch he made a move toward his bedroom.

“Weird,” Winn muttered under his breath, “Okay, bye,” he finished before heading out the door.

Mike rushes to his night stand and stood in front of it staring at his phone which laid on top. He slowly reached for it, hesitant to turn it on. Being too nervous after texting Kara last night he had put his phone on silent and had avoided looking if she had texted him back. A sigh of relief left his lips as he turned on his phone and saw Kara’s name. 

Kara: Thanks for letting me share my extreme love and knowledge of this city with you. Today was also some of the most fun I’ve had in awhile. I’ll just have to double check with the manager over here but i think coffee and a donut is suitable payment. :)

A stupidly large grin had appeared across his face as he finished reading her message. She wanted to see him again. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he tried to work out a response. Not wanting to sound desperate but wanting to make sure she knew he was interested. 

Mike: Great, being the unemployed one here, I’m pretty much free all day, everyday. Just let me know when you’d like to receive the payment. 

In a panic again he immediately shut his phone off, not caring to look at any other messages and briskly left the room. Mike couldn’t help but laugh at himself, he had literally ran away from his phone after texting her in fear of her reply. Promising himself he would go back to his phone after breakfast he headed to the kitchen to begin cooking whatever he could find.

***

Kara scanned her badge at the entrance of CatCo and headed to the elevators. She stepped into an empty car and pressed for the top floor. Just before the doors closed a hand slipped in, making the doors retreat. Kara looked up and came face to face with Winn. 

“Hi Kara.” 

He seemed normal, Kara thought to herself. Why was he being normal. Did he forget the embarrassing interruption that occurred last night? Just the thought of it brought an all too familiar heat to her cheeks. 

“Hi Winn,” She managed to get out.

The rest of the elevator ride was quiet, only taking a few seconds to reach the top floor. They split at the door, Kara veering to the left toward her desk as Winn went to the right to his. 

Her desk was quite a mess, she had failed to clean up yesterday as she assumed she would be returning after lunch to continue working. Quickly she began organizing papers into piles, each for a different article she had to write. When she came across the crime scene pictures again she paused remembering the strange reaction Mike had to them. Maybe he didn’t do well with blood? Maybe it had reminded him of his job in Atlanta? Something about the photos had made him freeze, she wanted to find out. She got lost in the possibilities when Cat walked up to her desk, towering over Kara.

“How was your date?” 

“I’m sorry?” Kara looked questioning at Cat, how had she known Kara had a date yesterday? 

“Winn came into my office yesterday begging for me to give you the afternoon off because of some date you were on during your lunch break.” She explained, her palms flat on Kara’s desk. 

“Oh yes,” she shot a glare at Winn, “it was,” she paused not wanting to give away how hard and fast she was falling for Mike, “okay.”

“Well good, I just wanted to make sure you know I still expect your article to be complete by tomorrow despite your day off.” 

“Of course Ms. Grant.” Kara nodded. “It'll be done by tonight.” 

“Good, now carry on.” She turned briskly and headed back to her own office. 

Kara spun in her chair to face her computer, opening her messages and began typing.

Kara: YOU TOLD CAT THAT I WAS ON A DATE ARE YOU INSANE?

Hitting the send key she looked up, staring down Winn until she knew he had gotten her message. He looked over with a smile and replied.

Winn: Yes! What did you expect me to lie to her? Plus she is weirdly invested in your love life, I knew she would let you have the day off.

Before Kara could respond to the first message a second came through.

Winn: Also, I know it’s not my business, but did you really think the date was “okay”?

Followed by a third.

Winn: It’s just Mike wouldn’t shut up about your day for a while and if you’re not interested you should probably let him know sooner rather than later. I don’t want to see him hurt.

Reading the third message made Kara’s heart begin to speed up. He had talked about her, to Winn. Mike wouldn’t shut up about her. She smiled to herself and began to reply.

Kara: No, it was actually really nice. And to be fair, I kinda did the same to Alex.

She quickly added a second message. 

Kara: I just didn’t want Cat getting invested, but I guess it’s a little late. 

Kara looked up to Winn, he gave an apologetic smile, mouthing “sorry” across the aisle. She just shrugged in response, not much she could do about it at this point. Just as she went to close her computer she noticed another unread message. 

Mike: Great, being the unemployed one here, I’m pretty much free all day, everyday. Just let me know when you’d like to receive the payment. 

Kara: Since I can't really skip anymore work, how’s Saturday morning?

Leaving her laptop open she returned her attention to writing, barely picking up her pen before hearing a message notification.

***

Mike had rushed his breakfast to get back to his phone. Seeing she had replied he quickly typed. His fingers ran across the screen with a slight shake as he typed the four word message.

***

Butterflies flew in Kara’s stomach as she opened Mike’s text. She had never thought such a simple message would make her feel like she was floating among the clouds. 

Mike: Sounds like a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, I promise I wont be dragging out the kiss for that much longer ;). As always feel free to leave Kudos or Comments! I love hearing your reactions and feedback to the story.


	12. Breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Mike have very different mornings before their first date. READ THE DISCLAIMER IN THE NOTES PLEASE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: this chapter starts to get into some deeper topics as will the next few. This chapter hints at binge drinking and has some violence (not toward any characters, just some violent actions). The rating will probably be moved up with the next few chapters.
> 
> Also if you want reference for Kara’s outfit I pulled from the morning scene in 2x14 of Supergirl.

Saturday morning had arrived and the four words that had previously brought immense joy to Kara were now haunting her. Today was technically their first date, yes they had hung out the other day but something about that was different. That day had started innocently, only turning into a date. Today, it was a date from the second she woke up. A real date.

Getting ready became a mountain of its own as Kara scanned her dresser and closet for something to wear. They were going for coffee, an activity she would usually wear a simple tee and leggings for. But it was a date, she wanted to look good. Who was she kidding, she wanted to look hot. She wanted that kiss.

Normally she would have called Alex and had her help her pick a suitable outfit but she was out working on a case. After much internal debate, Kara decided on a black and white striped button up and a knee length black skirt. Satisfied with her clothing choice, she moved onto her hair deciding to leave it simple, mainly down with a slight twist across the right side of her hair.

She made her way to the door deciding to walk to the coffee shop as a way to calm her nerves.

***

Nothing was exciting about this morning for Mike. He had woken up three hours before his alarm, beyond early even for him. Accepting his failure at another full night of sleep he stood in the shower silently as tears streamed from his eyes mixing with scalding hot water. Something about nearly burning his skin with the water took away from the emotional burning that never seems to leave him. 

Leaving the bathroom in his boxers only Mike made his way to the kitchen picking up a six pack of bottles from the door of the fridge. He couldn’t care less that it was before noon, those beers were calling his name. He threw himself onto the mattress and slammed the bottles onto his adjacent nightstand. Mike popped open the first bottle, downing its contents in a matter of seconds before reaching for a second. As ten minutes went by and the end of a third beer passed his lips, he reached for his phone. Unlocking it and opening his texts Mike composed one to his most recent contact: Kara.

Mike: I can’t make it this morning.

He didn’t need to explain himself, especially not to her. It was stupid of him to even consider dating at this point. Locking his phone and slamming it face down he popped open the fourth bottle.

***

She couldn’t help herself but to be speed walking through the city streets. It would’ve been incredibly embarrassing if anyone had known she was rushing to a coffee date and that she was not just some worker late for their meeting. Trying to keep her mind off what she was racing toward was impossible, every time she thought of him sitting there with her on their first official date, butterflies rose in her stomach. 

Kara reached the door took a deep breath and entered. Scanning the room quickly she had seen Mike had not arrived. Glancing at the decorative wall of clocks she realized she was nearly 20 minutes early. Deciding to find a table to wait she walked past the counter giving a wave to the barista who knew her by name and order. Just as she placed her hand on the back of the chair to sit down she felt her phone vibrate. Reaching into her pocket she pulled to out to see Mike’s name on her screen, the butterflies resurfacing. However, the butterflies were quickly morphed into weights as she read the text.

Mike: I can’t make it this morning.

Rereading the text she tried to register that he wasn’t coming to meet her. She was washed with feelings of sadness and confusion. He just stood her up. No reason, no rain check, no apology. A rumble from her stomach interrupted her self pity party reminding her that she still hadn’t eaten. 

After ordering a coffee and a muffin Kara left the coffee shop and headed out at a much slower pace than before. Not knowing any better she headed away from home and to her place of peace and comfort, the waterfront.

***

Waking up to the feeling of liquid seeping across his bed and body was nothing new to Mike. He sat up as usual before he realized that it wasn’t his own sweat that was covering him this morning but beer. His earlier morning came rushing back to him in a slight haze as the five and a half beers were still in his system. He sat on the side of his bed staring mindlessly into the ground, letting the beer continue to soak his sheets, skin and boxers, not caring. 

His body jumped as Winn opened his door letting light stream into his dark room.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be out right now?” He questioned, eyes widening upon taking in the status of his brother and his room. Empty bottles scattered on the nightstand and bed, Mike sitting on the obviously wet bed, bloodshot eyes and the smell of beer engulfing the room. “What the fuck have you been doing Mike?”

Ignoring his brothers rhetorical question, knowing it was incredibly obvious what he had been doing he continued to stare at the ground before processing his brothers earlier question. Was he supposed to be somewhere? Then it hit him, Kara. He was supposed to be getting coffee with Kara and he was going to be very late. He froze when he grabbed his phone, a small crack across the top of the screen. 

“No no no,” he muttered, his head shaking, rushing to unlock his phone. His heart dropping when he saw the message he had thought up to be a dream was anything but. He had canceled their date. “I canceled it.”

“What?”

“My date with Kara.” Mike’s sadness being quickly pushed out of the way to make room for anger. “Get out.”

“Mike…”

“Get OUT!” Mike brought his eyes to meet Winn’s now terrified eyes. He watched as Winn muttered something under his breath, unintelligible as his ears rang with anger, and walked out slamming the door behind him. 

Now his anger boiled over, grabbing his phone he cocked his arm and threw it letting it slam the door where Winn had been standing. A twinge of satisfaction arose from the thud of his phone against the door. Mike turned grabbing the bottle that had spilled in his bed, sending it flying in the same direction as his phone. It shattered upon impact with the wall, glass spraying across the doorway. He followed the first bottle up with the next and the next until he was down to a single bottle. Letting it sit in his hand a second too long, reality hit. 

Tears began streaming down his face, not caring to wipe them they rolled down his neck. He cried, he ugly cried, not caring to muffle his sniffling or whimpering. He knew Winn could hear but in the moment he didn’t care. Lying back down face first into the pillow he continued crying until tears no longer flowed. His throat now raw from crying, eyes swollen and body exhausted he fell back into a slumber. 

Winn hadn’t left, he remained outside Mike’s door. Jumping each time something, what he had assumed to be the bottles he saw, hit the back of the door. He had waited, listening to him cry for what felt like hours until he fell silent. Abandoning the door, Winn made his way to the garage, grabbing a broom, dustpan and a box. He cracked open Mike’s door to see him face down asleep on his bed and left the item next to the pile of glass. He wanted to help his brother so badly but knew he had to teach him to clean up his own mess, even the literal one. Seeing Mike’s phone lying on the floor he grabbed it, still on. Glancing at the screen he saw what Mike must have been looking at before he threw the phone. He had stood up Kara nearly an hour ago, probably around when he started drinking. Stepping over the glass shards he left a note of the nightstand.

Mike,  
There are shoes at the end of your bed, put them on before getting up. I left you stuff to clean up. I’m going grocery shopping. I moved your phone, it’s not broken. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone. Be careful cleaning up.  
Winn

With that, Winn shut Mike’s door and left the house locking it behind him. He got into his car and drove a few short minutes before parking and paying the meter. Only now he wasn’t in the parking lot of the grocery story, he had gone where he knew to find Kara. From a distance he saw her, the sun reflecting off her blonde hair. She was the only person there, sitting alone on a bench facing the water. Sighing he shut the car door and began walking in her direction.

“I knew I’d find you here.” Winn tried to make his voice cheerful.

Kara turned startled that anyone else was in the park, relieved when she saw her best friend walking toward her. “I’m guessing you know Mike didn’t show and that’s why you’re here.”

Winn just nodded, an apologetic smile across his face. “I keep telling myself not to fix his messes, that he needs to learn himself but here I am.” He gestured around himself and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm across her shoulders. “He’s… I don’t know Kara, he’s not the Mike I used to know. Not that he was ever a super happy person but… he’s not himself. The only time I saw a glimpse of his old self was after you had spent the day together. It seemed like he was back. Back to his old self. But then this morning, this morning he was back to being someone I don’t know.” 

“What happened?” Kara, now concerned for both brothers, turned to face Winn. 

“That’s not for me to share, not the accident, not this morning. I just wanted to let you know, he wasn’t himself when he stood you up. I saw the panic when he realized that he had told you he wasn’t coming. I’m not trying to apologize for him, you know, just, I don’t really know what I’m trying to do.” He now had even confused himself. His plan was to comfort Kara, not make excuses for his brothers behavior. He couldn’t help it, Kara deserved to know this wasn’t who Mike was. “Sorry, I’m probably not helping.”

“It’s fine, him and I probably weren’t the best idea anyway.” She sighed, lying to herself and Winn. 

“I don’t mean to meddle in your situation Kara, but maybe give him time?” He quickly added on. “I know that’s a lot to ask and I shouldn’t be the one to be doing this but no one here is stupid, you like him, he likes you. He just…” Winn cut himself off realizing he was talking in circles. “You made him happier than I’ve seen him in years within the few hours you spent together. It’s selfish but I miss that Mike.” 

Kara nodded, not sure what she was agreeing to but she couldn’t find words to fill the void either. 

“Well, I should go. I have to pick things up for the party next weekend. You’re going right?” 

“I, yeah, I should be.” She had temporarily forgotten about the party.

“Great. And Kara, I’m sorry about Mike.” He gave her a hug as they both rose from the bench. 

“I’m sorry too, Winn.” She had realized his pain as he talked to her, she couldn’t imagine something like that happening to her and Alex’s relationship. 

She watched as Winn got back in his car and drove off before sitting back down. It was nice of him to stop by but now she was more confused. Winn hasn’t provided many answers to why he had canceled or what had made him so different that morning. Taking the final sip of her coffee she sighed, who knew if she would ever get those answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to ruin the fun loving story I had going. I wasn’t in the best mood when writing and this is what happened! Don’t worry I will fix it eventually.
> 
> As always feel free to leave comments or Kudos! I love the feedback from readers!


	13. The Fourth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the Fourth of July and Lena is hosting a party. Kara and Mike are forced to talk after Winn and Alex both drag them to the party. 
> 
> PLEASE READ THE DISCLAIMER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***DISCLAIMER: The end of this chapter includes descriptions of a PTSD attack and brief mention of gun violence. ***
> 
> The rating will be increased with the next chapter, as well as I will probably add a warning for violence as I’d rather be too cautious with the warnings and ratings than to accidentally put someone in a situation where they’re reading something that makes them feel unsafe.
> 
> Also I’m using personal experience when describing PTSD symptoms and the experience of panic attacks of PTSD episodes. Please remember everyone’s experience is different, just because something happens to one person doesn’t mean it happens to someone else. 
> 
> That’s it! Enjoy the story!

Nearly a week had passed and not a word had been spoken between Kara and Mike.

Kara brushes it off as “giving him time” as Winn has suggested but she missed him. She missed waking up every morning to a text. She missed him asking where to eat, what stores to go to. For two weeks she had gotten used to seeing his name every time she glanced at her phone. She had grown accustomed to his company through the phone as well as his company in person. She even missed Winn teasing her at work about Mike, the way he would raise his eyebrows and smirk every time she giggled at her phone. She couldn’t even be mad, she knew she should be, but she missed him too much.

Mike had been kicking himself. He ruined the single good thing in his life. He typed out apologies every day, his finger hovering over the send button before he erased the entire paragraph and shut his phone off. Winn suggested he look for a job but with only a high school education, that was more difficult than expected. Instead, he spent most mornings working out. He would run for miles, wandering to the outskirts of National City before turning back and heading home. Running had become his best distraction, he was used to working out it was second nature. When he arrived home a list of tasks was always left for him, something Mike had asked Winn to do for him. His tasked ranged from shopping to cleaning and other tasks Winn needed done. Mike had become content with his routine, he didn’t have much of a choice anyways.

***

“Maybe I’ll just stay here” Kara gestured to her apartment.

Alex rolled her eyes, “Seriously?” The annoyance clear in her voice.

“What?” She shot back.

“Kara you promised.” She eyed her sister before adding, “ Are you a liar?” Knowing this would get a rise out of Kara.

“That’s a little childish don’t you think Alex,” Kara started walking away.

“I’m sorry, I’m being childish?” Alex followed Kara, now genuinely annoyed with her. “I am not the one here who is avoiding a party she’s been looking forward to for over a week because of a stupid boy who she never even dated!”

“Hey!” Kara interrupted

“I’m not finished,” she threw her hands up. “You don’t even know if he’s going. You know who is going? Winn, James, Lena, Nia, Brainy, Maggie and Me but no you’d prefer to sit and sulk at home.” She took a deep breath, “Letting one person ruin your night? That’s childish Kara.” It wasn’t until after yelling that Alex realized that maybe yelling wasn’t going to help her cause.

Kara was silent, her eyes wide, lips pulled inward being pinched between her teeth. “Fine,” she turned to her bedroom. “I’ll go, but don’t expect me to spend much time with you. 

“Fine.” Alex turned back to the kitchen, sitting down and taking a well needed drink. 

***

Winn pulled up to the curb parking the car outside of Lena’s house. She often hosted parties amongst the group of friends. Her home was large, located on what felt like a cliff overlooking the city, perfect for viewing fireworks. They had arrived a little late, it had taken Mike longer than he expected to find party acceptable clothing. But, better late than never. After greeting them at the door Lena led Winn and Mike out to the patio where everyone else was already lounging. 

Winn wandered away going to say hi to Nia and Alex who had waved him down as soon as they saw him. This left Mike standing alone, glancing around. The view was amazing, the city lit up below the contrasted dark sky above. He pulled his eyes from the city to continue scanning then party, it wasn’t a huge attendance, the same group from Winn’s birthday plus a few others he had never met. His nerves jumped when his eyes settled on a head of blonde hair: Kara. 

He had forgotten that she would be here. She was standing at the table of drinks chatting with Lena. He waited and watched them, both with drinks in their hands, smiles on their faces. He watched as Kara laughed, eyes closed as she threw her head back, unable to contain herself. When her head returned forward her eyes opened, briefly meeting his. He watched as she forced a quick smile in his direction before returning her attention to Lena. Mike convinced himself that he shouldn’t interrupt her conversation, providing himself an excuse. Unfortunately that excuse only lasted so long as Lena was called over by a party goer who was trying to work the speakers. Deciding this might be his only chance to get her alone tonight, Mike headed in her direction. 

“Hi,” He stumbled over the simple word, unsure how to start his apology. 

She didn’t respond, her eyes drifting from the label of her bottle to his face for a second before returning. 

“Look, Kara, I don’t really know how to go about this,” just as he began apologizing, the sound system turned on. The music so loud, the surface of the party seemed to vibrate. He now was shouting. “Can we talk? I understand if the answer is no but if you’ll give me the chance I want to explain myself.” Here he was practically begging for her to hear him out.

“Okay.” She agreed, her fingers had now successfully picked the label off the bottle as she continued to play with it. Tossing the bottle and grabbing a new one she walked away towards the house. 

Mike turned watching her, not following. Maybe he had heard her wrong, maybe she was walking away from him. He doubted himself until he saw her turn raising an eyebrow at him and encouraging him to follow her with a wave of her hand. 

He trailed behind her, the distant noise from the city and their shoes hitting the pavement cushioned the silence between them. Kara suddenly veered right, heading down a small path, clearly made by frequent visitors. After dodging low hanging branches the path opened to a small outlook, the view even better than at Lena’s. 

Mike couldn’t help himself, “Woah.” 

“Yeah, Lena showed me this place a few years ago.” She moved to a large rock that was placed in the center of the parted woods. He followed.

Placing his hands on his knees, palms nervously smoothing across his thighs. Mike took one last glance at the city before turning to Kara. She remained facing forward, face illuminated by the city lights.

“I’m sorry. And I, well, I understand that you don’t owe me anything after what I did to you. It wasn’t fair.” He stopped, struggling for the right words to express his guilt.

“What happened?” Kara’s voice was nearly a whisper. “I thought we, I thought we had something good? I thought you were interested in me?” She stumbled, feeling the anger she thought to have passed begin to heat up.

“We do. Did, I don’t know. I am interested in you. I messed up and”

“Then why’d you ditch me?!” Interrupting, Kara now turned to face Mike. Her face scrunched in a mix of confusion and anger.

“I woke up angry and upset, and scared, from a nightmare. The last thing I wanted to do was leave my bed that morning. So I canceled while not being in the best mindset and passed back out. Winn woke me up an hour later, I saw that I had texted you, I thought I had dreamt that text, I wish I had dreamt that text. I got mad again yelled at Winn and went back to bed.” 

He looked down at his hands, running his index finger over the scab that remained on his left palm. A consequence of cleaning up the broken glass, a detail he failed to mention to Kara. She didn’t need to know the terrible details about his damaged self just yet.

“If you were so upset why didn’t you call or text me?” She could accept his apology for canceling the date, fine, but he never made an attempt to contact her after the fact.

“I, I thought you would be mad, you know. I’m the ass who was rude to you at a party you hosted.” He stood up, taking a deep breath, hands running through his hair, before turning back to face Kara. “I’m the ass who distracted you at work. I’m the ass who tried to kiss you but chickened out when Winn accidentally saw. I’m the ass who stood you up. I don’t deserve any more chances with you.” He clenched his jaw as tears threatened to spill over.

“Mike,” She reaches a hand out in his direction, wanting to pull him back by her. He placed his hand on hers and she tugged, encouraging him to sit next to her. “You don’t deserve a second chance. I know that, you know that. But, I’ve never had these feelings for someone, the ones that make me a little crazy, all the time.”

“Me either,” He felt a smile grow on his face, the first genuine smile he had experienced in days.

“I still want to try this.” She pulled her eyes from his, moving them down to her shoes as she added, “plus, I’d like the chance to finish what we started on the porch.” Kara’s eyes came back to meet his as she finished her confession. Her bottom lip pulled between her teeth in a grin.

“Oh,” Mike’s eyes widened and face blushed when he realized she meant the kiss. “Me too.” 

He kept his right hand in Kara’s left, lacing his fingers between hers to hold tighter. His left hand remained tightly at his side. Mike slowly shifted his body, his knees angling toward her. She followed suit, her body shifting towards his, their knees meeting.

Slowly Mike leaned in, his eyes on her lips. A tingle pulsed through his body as every second passed. His eyes fluttered shut as his forehead meet hers first. Both breathing the same air, lips inches from each other. Taking a deep breath, he opened them slowly, meeting her eyes as they cracked open. 

“You sure?” His voice came out hoarse. 

He felt her nod slightly, his forehead moving with hers, before her lips were on his. Forcefully her palm had found its place on his cheek, pulling him into her. Her soft lips cushioned his as she pulled him in. They’re lips remained locked together, Kara pulling Mike’s bottom lip between hers slowly and Mike returning the favor with her top lip. 

His lips felt smooth against hers, her being nose tickled by his stubble. Feeling herself melt into him, her hand slowly moving from his cheek to his neck, she let a slight moan vibrating her lips against his. Embarrassed, she pulled away, their foreheads remaining pressed together. They remained in silence, both breathing heavy, eyes still closed, savoring the feeling of closeness. 

“Wow.” She whispered. Mike could feel her warm breath grazing his lips as she spoke. 

“Yeah.” He agreed, slowly opening his eyes. They fell to Kara’s lips and he watched as her tongue grazed her bottom lip, making him want to kiss her all over again.

“That was, um.” At a loss of words to describe the electricity she felt pulsing across her lips and entire body. The way her pulse was racing, her senses overwhelmed all because of him.

“Mhmm.” Mike hummed in agreement. 

They remained in silence, which no longer felt uncomfortable. Both slowly returning their breathing to a normal pace, hands still intertwined between them. 

A bright flash of red came across the sky, illuminating everything around them, followed by a bang that shook the city below them. Kara felt as Mike tensed, his body physically jolting at the sound. His head swiveling toward the sound. She just giggled, his jolt had broken their foreheads apart.

“If that isn’t cliché, I don’t know what is.” She watched as the first firework was followed by more of various colors lighting up the sky. It took her a second to realize Mike’s death grip on her hand. Turning to him she saw his face, ghostly white with wide eyes and a clenched jaw. His eyes seemed to glaze over, his body covered in beads of sweat, his breathing in a short, uneven rhythm. His hand developed a tremble, followed by the rest of his body. 

“Mike,” she tried to call his name, placing her other hand on his thigh, trying her best to pull him from the trance he had entered.

Only, the voice calling his name was no longer Kara’s soothing voice, his name was being yelled by his fellow officer in a panic. The earthshaking bangs were no longer the sound of celebratory fireworks but of life threatening gun shots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave kudos and comments!
> 
> ***Also I’ve been struggling with writers block with this story a bit and was considering doing a book of one shots for Kara and Mon-el/Mike based on prompts from you readers or online. I don’t know if that’s something people would read but I might try it to still be writing when I get stuck with this story.***


	14. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Mike freezes, Kara tries to calm him down unsuccessfully.
> 
> (I suck at summaries if you couldn’t tell)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry for taking so long to update, life got the best of me the past two months. I’ve been struggling with this story and how to take it from where it is to the main plot points I want to work it. I might begin doing short one shots for Karamel or other SG ships to try and get back into the creative space. 
> 
> Thank you for staying with me, I appreciate you all so much. Enjoy!

Mike’s whole body was rigid under her soft palms. One hand resting on his knee the other places on his shoulder, she held him. It was safe to say Kara was terrified. 

She watched his face closely as it twisted. His complexion a pale white even in the night. His eyes dilated and frozen on the horizon in front of him. Eyebrows raised, mouth slightly ajar, he remained motionless. As the seconds passed, she felt his body develop a tremble, starting with his hands and spreading to his whole body. Beads of sweat began to appear on his brow and upper lip, his breaths now shallow.

Kara’s mind was racing. Her own heart pounding against her rib cage as she tried to call to Mike. With each failing attempt she grew more concerned. She couldn’t leave him. She continued to move her hands across his body, trying to soothe his fear. Holding his hand, rubbing his knee, his back, his shoulder, she tried everything.

Time seemed to stand still as she watched him. The world around them frozen. So she waited. Giving up on calling to him, she left one hand on Mike’s, the other holding her phone as she debated calling Winn. Kara only realized that many minutes must have passed when the firework display had stopped and the air was filled, once again, with the sound of traffic below.

The twitch of Mike’s hand brought her mind back to reality, her head swiveling to look at him. His breathing still labored and face still pale, he blinked and glanced at Kara before looking down. Letting out a cough, Mike stood up, pulling his hand out of Kara’s grasp. His face now red with embarrassment.

“I should go.” His voice hoarse, his eyes not lifting from the ground. 

“Mike,” Kara started but he had already turned his back to her and headed down the street. So she let him leave, giving him a head start she followed back to Lena’s a few minutes later.

When she arrived Alex flew to her side. “What happened out there?” Her eyebrows raised. Realizing Kara wasn’t going to be giving her an answer, she continued. “Mike came back all sweaty and red in the face. If I didn’t know any better I would be thinking you two had yourselves a good time,” she raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. “That is if he hadn’t come back without you, and demanded to leave.” 

“It’s none of your business Alex,” her frustration and confusion beginning to show. “I’m going to get a drink.” Kara walked away before Alex could get in another word. 

She grabbed a beer and made her way to an empty table, pulling out her phone before sitting down. She stared at the view, scanning the city as if it held the words she was looking for. She began to type,

“Hi, hope you are okay. Call me. :)”

Before she could second guess the text she let her thumb send it. Sure it wasn’t the most forward text shes ever sent but what else was she supposed to say? She composed her second message.

“Did Mike make it home safe?”

She sent the message to Winn before closing her phone, not wanting to wait for a response. 

The party began to die out shortly after the fireworks display and it wasn’t until she was back in the car headed to her apartment that she pulled her phone out to see missed texts from both Winn and Mike. Winn’s text was a simple “yes”. No explanation, no details, just answering her question. 

She hesitated before opening Mike’s text, forcing herself not to get her hopes up too high. She sucked air into her lungs and waited.

Mike: I’m okay, thank you for your concern. I’d like to talk. Tomorrow? 

Sighing she released the air she had held tightly. He was okay. She read on.

Mike: I understand if you’re done with me, I’ve been nothing but a terrible houseguest and friend with you.

The message was followed by another text.

Mike: When I said “friend” I wasn’t friendzoning you, but I understand if that’s what you want now. 

Mike: I just didn’t know how else to phrase that I’ve been a terrible person to know...

Mike: I’ll be better able to explain tomorrow, or whenever you have a chance if you’d like. 

Mike: Sorry.

Her eyes scanned over the numerous texts that were sent in a matter of ten minutes. He was clearly not in the most clear headed space. She laughed thinking how she was always too scared to even double text someone and here Mike was spamming her phone. 

Kara: I’d like to talk. Waterfront tomorrow morning? 8?

As she hit send a twinge of regret flooded her body. Maybe she didn’t want to see him again. He had stood her up once, she had forgiven him. Now was she supposed to give him a third chance? He had literally ran away from her earlier that evening, what would stop him from doing it again? She wrestled with her mind, all the negatives about Mike coming to the surface. 

Her mind shifted to earlier than night, before he had ran. To the kiss. Just thinking out it made her stomach flutter and her cheeks blush. The way his soft lips had captured hers. The way his stubble had tickled under her nose. The way she felt his grip on her hand as it tightened, following the moan that had slipped from her throat. The way the world seemed to disappear around them. 

Everything about it was perfect. And it wasn’t just the kiss they had shared. Their afternoon together and been equally perfect.

Their conversation had flowed effortlessly. Offering her his coat at the waterfront, a place she rarely shared with anyone. Something about him made Kara want to share her safest place with him. Mike had made her feel more at home in her own apartment than she ever had when they sat together on the couch. When he had hugged her, the way his arms made her feel warmer than his jacket ever did. How she had left sad and a tiny bit empty when she had to leave him on the porch of Winn’s house. The texts in the following days, the way she would smile at the sight of his name on her screen, being disappointed when the name read someone else’s. 

The vibration of her phone in her palm pulled her back to reality. 

Mike: Thank you, Kara. 8 is perfect.

Kara watched as the three dots remained in the corner of the screen as Mike continued to type.

Mike: Goodnight Kara. Sorry again.

The three dots disappeared and Kara responded.

Kara: Goodnight Mike.

Changing and climbing into bed, she set the alarm for 6, praying she wouldn’t regret her choice, and she fell back into the pillows, letting sleep overcome her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, sorry it was a short chapter. Again I’ve been struggling with writing this story but I am determined to finish it if it kills me. Feel free to leave Comments or Kudos.


	15. The Warehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What will happen when Kara agrees to meet with Mike again? Will she finally get the whole truth about his past?
> 
> ***WARNING***  
> Mentions of guns, weapons, and a hostage situation. No extreme violence descriptions yet, however there will be violence in the following chapters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***WARNING***  
> I have increased the rating to Mature, as I feel it is better to be too cautious with ratings.
> 
> Mentions of guns, weapons, and a hostage situation. No extreme violence descriptions yet, however there will be violence in the following chapters. Please air on the side of caution, if you feel these chapters will make you uncomfortable, or impact you in a negative way please do not read. The last thing I want to happen is someone to become triggered or impacted negatively because of something I write.  
> ***WARNING***

They had agreed to meet at 8 but Mike was out of the house by 6. He had a few errands to run prior to meeting Kara at the waterfront and he was not going to be late. 

Kara arrived at the park a few minutes before 8, spotting Mike already there waiting on a bench. From a distance she could see him talking to himself, muttering a few words then shaking his head or rubbing his temples in frustration. One knee rapidly bouncing as his free hand rested on it. It was fair to say he looked stressed out. When he finally looked up she caught his eye, giving him a quick wave as she sped up to meet him. 

He stood up as she arrived next to him, coffee in hand. 

“This is for you.” He let her take the cup from his hand, their fingers briefly touched before she pulled away. 

“Thanks.” Kara let out a rather quietly.

Mike turned back around to the bench, grabbing something. Turning back to face Kara he held out an arrangement of flowers. The bouquet was a strange arrangement of colors, not quite matching or uniform.

“These,” he fumbled with the bouquet momentarily, “these are also for you. I know it’s not the most beautiful set of flowers out there but I picked them based on their meanings, who knew flowers even had meanings.” He stopped for a second feeling stupid, who picks flowers based on meanings, he should’ve just bought the prettiest arrangement. “The purple ones, Hydrangeas I think, mean gratitude. The white ones are Calla Lilies for honesty, because that’s what I owe you. The Daffodils, for new beginnings because that’s what I want with you. And lastly,” he glanced down at the flowers, “all the red ones are called Aster, they symbolize patience. Which you have offered me over and over again even when I don’t deserve it. So thank you, Kara, for being patient with me.”

Kara was taken aback. Never had anyone in her life done something so meaningful for her. Sure to other people it was just some poorly chosen and arrange flowers but to him, they had meanings and reasons behind each one. 

“I know it’s silly, but,” he began when Kara had yet to say anything. 

“It’s not silly Mike,” she cut him off. “It shows you care and are genuine about this, so thank you.” 

They both sat. Breaking the silence Mike began to speak, “Okay, here’s the thing, I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to explain this to you all morning and I can’t seem to get it right. So please bear with me, and feel free to stop me or ask questions. I just wanted to give you a heads up that I know this probably won’t make complete sense.” 

He was terrified at this point. His voice had a slight shake as did his hands. Being unable to look Kara in the face, Mike continued to stare at his hands as they played with the fabric of his shirt. The only other person he had ever revealed his past to, outside of those who witnessed it with him, was Winn. Now here he was about to strip down his life for a girl he had just met.

“So it started a few months ago…”

***

Mike had just finished lacing up his boots when the station received a dispatch. His shift not starting for another 30 minutes, Mike sat down to avoid being in the way. His fellow officers left and headed for the scene. Feeling more tired that most days he walked to the kitchen to brew some coffee. Just as he grabbed his mug from the cabinet, his Deputy came running through the door.

“Matthews, they need you at the old shipping warehouse. Possible hostage situation, dispatch will feed you more information on the way.”

Abandoning the coffee Mike made his way to his car, speeding out of the garage and toward the warehouse. This wasn’t the first hostage situation he had ever dealt with. It had become his “specialty” to say the least. He had safely navigated his way through four prior hold ups throughout his career, ranging from people with bombs or guns. Mike found pride in his ability to talk to the aggressor, calming them to the point where he could be detained, without anyone being hurt. Sure he wasn’t a huge fan of being the one physically between the hostage taker and the victims, but Mike’s success rate was undeniable.

As he drove, the monitor in his car began filling with information. He was headed to the old warehouse by the water where inside, a man was holding people hostage in hopes of getting his demands for money and safety met. That was all the information he was able to receive before arriving at the scene. Throwing on his steel plate vest, Mike stepped out of the rather quiet car and into the parking lot, filled with sirens and shouting

“Matthews!” Mike looked over to see Commander Light waving him down. He stood among various SWAT members as well as police officers. Mike ran toward them. “We don’t know much. Here’s what we do know, the man is Dylan Traymor. He’s got a gun and claims to have rigged the warehouse with bombs on a deadman’s switch. We’re working on securing the perimeter now, but for now it seems the bombs are fake, being used as a way to distract us. The hostages,” Mike saw his commander glance to the warehouse, “they’re children Mike.” 

Those words rattled around his brain, feeling like a punch in the stomach. Children. This man is holding children hostage. 

“It seems he kidnapped them from the county fair a few blocks over, which we’re taking care of.” He now turned to face Mike. “We talked to him, told him we’re sending someone in to talk to him. On his conditions, he’s only going to talk to someone who’s unarmed.”

That was new for Mike, never had he been required to enter a situation weaponless, vulnerable to his environment, vulnerable to the attacker. This was his job, there were children in harm's way. It didn’t take him long to reach for his handgun in his belt, handing it over to Commander Light, following the gun up with his taser.

“We’ll continue to communicate with you while you’re in there, open line as always. Anything you say we’ll hear, you know the procedure better than anyone.” 

Not waiting any longer, Mike headed toward the entrance of the warehouse. He waited outside momentarily. From where he stood he could hear the voice of the man, a strangled noise that came from inside. He must have been talking to the police, Mike could hear him rambling and likely listing demands. 

“We let him know you are entering the building Matthews, walk in with your hands up, show him you have nothing on you.”

Following orders, Mike turned the corner. His heart pounding as he lifted his hands above his shoulders, palms flat. The bright sun outside barely shone into the dusty and dim room. After giving his eyes a second to adjust, Mike was able to make out the situation that now lay in front of him. Backed into a corner was a group of children, maybe five of them, all huddled together. Standing in front of them, a tall, thin man, gun in hand but pointed at the ground, away from the children. He had yet to see Mike enter the building.

Taking a deep breath, his hands still raised, Mike spoke. “Mr. Traymor.” He spun around, gun now raised and barrel aimed at Mike. “Mr. Traymor, my name is Mike. I work for the Atlanta Police Department. I’m here to talk to you, I have no weapons. I’m not here to hurt you, I want to help you.” He worked through the checklist he had been taught many years ago. Introduce yourself, tell them you want to help, ask if they want to talk, always speak before making a move. “Is it okay if I come closer so I can talk to you?” 

“Take the body armor off.” The strangled voice he had heard earlier now echoed off the walls. 

“Matthews,” the walkie talkie on his shoulder chimed in “do as he asks, we’ve got you.” 

“Okay Mr Traymor. I’ll take it off, I’ll leave it right here okay?” 

“Do it,” the voice across the warehouse demanded.

With that Mike moved his hands down slowly, eyes locked on the end of Traymor’s gun. He removed his vest, followed by his helmet, and placed them next to his feet. His hands were again raised in a helpless position.

“Mr. Traymor, can I come closer to speak to you now?” Mike hoped he couldn’t hear the same tremor he felt through his whole body as he stood defenseless, weaponless in front of Traymor’s gun.

“Do it, slowly.” 

Forcing himself to walk toward the gun’s barrel, Mike slowly crept toward the corner of the warehouse. As he got closer he stole glances over to the group of kids. “Six hostages.” He muttered loud enough for his staff to hear but not loud enough for Traymor to pick up. 

“Stop!” The voice froze Mike in his step. He wasn’t as close as he wanted, a few more steps and he could have put himself between Traymor and the children. Instead he was to the right, leaving them still vulnerable.

Take a second to get a better look at the kids he noticed four boys, two girls. They all were quiet, probably because the had been told to be quiet, or out of fear. A few had their eyes closed, hands covering their faces, one child was staring at the far wall, frozen not moving. The last two were looking back at Mike, their eyes wide, terrified, the innocence ripped from them. Where Mike stood he could see the tears on the face of the one boy. 

In that moment, the weight of his situation grew. His boots now felt like cinder blocks pinning him to the ground. His heart, tight with every pulse. Swallowing harshly, Mike decided, he was getting every single one of those kids out of here, if it was the last thing he got to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed getting a little bit of Mike’s backstory in this chapter. As a heads up, the following chapter will be intense and more violent than this one. 
> 
> As always thanks you for reading, feel free to leave Kudos and Comments!


	16. Shots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike continues to tell Kara the story of his past.
> 
> WARNING: gun violence and brief description of blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *DISCLAIMER* this chapter does have gun violence in it as well as descriptions of blood so please don’t read it if that makes you uncomfortable in any way.
> 
> Thank you as always for sticking with me as I struggle to find time to write and edit these chapters.

“Matthews, the building is secure, we have a perimeter.” Mike was incredibly thankful for his small wireless earpiece as he heard his commander’s voice. The last thing they needed was Traymor realizing he was surrounded and for him to panic. 

“Mr. Traymor?” 

“What?” He shot a frozen glare at Mike. 

“What do you want?” Mike paused for a second, deciding to clarify when Traymor remained quiet. “Why are you doing this?” Running through his training at a million miles per hour Mike was trying to do everything just right. One single mistake could result in death and not just his own. 

“What do I want? Well where do I start,” As Traymor began to list his demands Mike began to zone out. Nothing was unusual about Traymor’s demands. He wanted money and safety as most hostage takers tend to. His ongoing list of demands from the police became white noise to Mike as he took the time to evaluate his options. 

Option 1: tackle Traymor, right here, right now. 

This definitely was not the best option for Mike, more of a last resort. There was no doubt that Mike could easily take down the tall but thin man in front of him. Tackling him could cause Traymor to react, firing his gun. Since this would put the children at a high chance of being injured, Mike put it at the bottom of the list.

Option 2: wait for his fellow officers to move in.

While this may be the safest option, it could take hours. From Mike’s experience, the longer the hostage taker waited, the more anxious they got. The more anxious they got the more likely they were to lash out. Any chance of lashing out meant again, putting the children and his fellow officers in danger. Mike moved on to option 3.

Option 3: compromise with Traymor.

This was the option that everyone hated the most. Mike had no interest in compromising with someone who was willing to use children to benefit himself. He didn't deserve the money or the security after what he has done. No chance, Mike thought.

Option 4: disam Traymor

Now this could be possible. Mike had noticed the way Traymor seemed to casually walk, being willing to turn his back to Mike for brief periods. He would stare at the ceiling or the door Mike had entered, likely checking for more officers. If he was able to get a hand on the gun without Traymor expecting it, he could most likely knock it away and then follow up with Option 1 and tackle him. It was just a matter of if Mike would be able to get the gun away before Traymor had the chance to fire a shot. 

“You’re not even fucking listening to me anymore!” 

Mike blinked realizing his mistake in zoning out. The last thing he needed was Traymor thinking he wasn't listening to him. Before he could get a word out he watched as the world around him went into slow motion. 

Traymor’s face painted with anger looked from Mike to the kids and back to Mike. His hands adjusted, lifting the gun with his index finger wrapped on the trigger. His eyes remained locked on Mike’s as he lifted the gun pointing it directly at Mike’s chest. It only remained there for a second before Traymor’s eyes shifted to the corner. 

The kids.

Forgetting he had abandoned his body armour halfway across the warehouse, Mike jumped. In a split second decision he had dove to his right as the shots rang out through the warehouse.

The following moments felt as if they were in fast forward. The shot, followed by yelling, from Traymor, from the kids, from his fellow officers as they came rushing into the warehouse from every angle. Turning his head Mike watched a pair of officers in full tactical gear take Traymor to the ground. Settling onto his back Mike let his head turn as he watched a group of officers picked up each kid. Each one had their teary eyes on Mike. Except they weren’t meeting Mike’s eyes but we’re staring below his neck. That when he saw it. The contrasting deep red puddle against the grey concrete.

He was bleeding. Bringing up his right hand, Mike placed his hand across his chest where he now noticed a simmering pain. Feeling the unusually damp fabric of his shirt, he pulled his hand up. Only his hand had gone from pale to blood stained. He watched as blood dripped from his ring finger and palm. The last thing he saw was a single stream of red flow down his wrist before his vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it was rather short but I really wanted to get something updated!
> 
> Feel free to leave feedback! As always thanks for reading!


	17. Back to Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike finishes telling Kara of his past and she works to process the new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL  
> MELISSA AND CHRIS GOT MARRIED.  
> I’m so happy they got to have a nice ceremony with friends and family because that’s what these two pure humans deserve. Hopefully they get to have a little time to themselves before Melissa has to go back to shooting.  
> (Feel free to freak out about it in the comments, I’ll freak out with you)

“So,” Mike clapped his hands to his thighs, “there you go.” He was not yet daring to look at Kara. She had remained silent throughout the story. MIke could feel her eyes on him the whole time as he spoke. She simply sat there quietly, not interrupting, just listening. 

“Mike I,” Kara was struggling to find the right words. When someone dies, you say you're sorry for their loss, when they’re sick, get well soon. She had no idea what you are supposed to say to someone who was shot trying to save children from a crazy man. 

“I know that's a lot of information,” his teary eyes still not meeting hers, “I just thought you should know.” 

Catching onto the break in his voice and the small sniffle present in his nose, Kara grabbed his hand. She gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay Mike.”

“I’m sorry, I've just never talked about it to anyone,” He let out a sad laugh “not even Winn knows all the details.” He finally turned his head up to Kara. Noticing the tears that had escaped his eyes, she moved her thumb letting it graze his cheek. “He only knows the important information well and what he was told at the hospital while I was out.” 

“Wait, you were the “family emergency” that he had a while back. He refused to talk to me about it I was so worried about him.” Kara now connecting the pieces. Winn had rarely missed work and suddenly left for a few weeks with one day notice. He had refused to talk to anyone about it claiming it to be a “family emergency”. 

“That would be me, and it's not really his fault he didn't talk about it. That would be my fault. I refused to tell him anything and I certainly didn't want him telling anyone what little information he did know.”   
Nodding, Kara turned her head from Mike to face the water in front of them. Taking a deep breath as she tried her best to process all the information that was just thrown at her. 

“Since then things haven’t been great,” Mike started again. “I tried to go back to work in Atlanta after I was released from the hospital. I started doing simple paperwork and was finally able to go back out on patrol. But I became too paranoid, too jumpy. I couldn't trust anyone, I was beginning to reach for my own gun more than I needed to. So I resigned. I realized it wasn’t safe for myself or anyone else to continue to work as a police officer. Unfortunately without a job I was left alone, in my own head for days on end. I developed nightmares, depression and anxiety.” He let out a sigh before continuing, “and an unfortunate dependency on alcohol. And I finally broke one day and called the only person I knew that could get me out of Atlanta.”

“Winn.”

“Yep, and here I am. Thats what happened at Lena’s. The sound of the fireworks unfortunately closely resemble the sound of a gunshot, it caught me off guard, I froze.” He shivered remembering the sound clear as day.

“Look, Mike,”

“Kara it's fine now that you know everything, all the baggage that I have, if you’re done with me if I’m too much work. You don't have to justify it, I understand.”

Looking over Kara had noticed Mikes head had dropped again, his eyes on his hands fidgeting in his lap. “Mike,” she gently placed her palm to his cheek, pulling his face in her direction. “I am not done with you, I just, it's a lot. But if I can, I’d like to offer a hand, let me help you carry the baggage?”

“Are you sure? You know the morning we were supposed to go on our date, I got so drunk I cancelled without remembering. It wasn't until I woke up later covered in beer that I realized what I had done. Which was followed by me whipping the bottles across my room in anger. You don't deserve that Kara. you deserve someone who won't cancel on you, who won't be a drunk, who won't make your life more difficult. It, it’s just not fair to you.” Mike realized he wasn’t making the best case for himself but he wanted Kara to know all the details before she even considered staying with him. 

“But Mike, that's not who you are all the time. That Mike is just a result of the accident. The Mike that I know is in there is the Mike who gave me his jacket when it rained, who sat and watched my favorite movie with me, the Mike that apologized for his “assness” multiple times. He's the Mike that gave me the best kiss of my life at Lena’s party, and brought me the most thoughtful bouquet of flowers in this world.” a smile grew across his face and she continued to talk, “That Mike, he’s still in there. He may have a few bumps and bruises but he's still there. So, no. I don’t want to run, I don’t want to forget about you, I don’t want to give up on this.”

“Best kiss of your life huh?” The smirk obvious on his face. 

“Seriously? I say all those things and that's what you hear?” She pretended to pout.

“Sorry,” he laughed smirk still on his face. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

“I mean it Mike. I want to help you get back to yourself. I'll do it as a girlfriend, I'll do it as a friend. Whatever you need, I want to help.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

“Can I...” Kara watched as his face got closer and his eyes drifted down to her lips, realizing what he was asking.

“Yeah.” she let out in a near whisper, letting her eyes fall closed as his did. He planted a soft kiss on her lips, more tame than the first one they shared. Simply enjoying the feeling of his lips being pressed to hers, the way his stubble scratched her soft skin and her nose was filled with the smell of his cologne.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. Mike pulled away grabbing Kara’s hands in his own. 

“Thank you. Really Kara, thank you for letting me screw this up and still giving me chance after chance to be better. Thank you for making me feel comfortable enough to open up to you. Thank you.” He stood up. “Now,” he glanced at his watch, “this seems to be quite a long time to spend with someone before the first date.” 

Mike felt his nerves come back. Sure they had just kissed and she admitted to wanting to be with him but still. Actually asking her on a date was different. That made this real, it made it tangible and it also reminded him of his mistake last time. 

“Kara, would you like to go out with me sometime?” He held his breath. 

“Yes Mike, how many times am I going to have to say it?” Kara’s smile wide across her face as she looked back at him.

“Okay,”

“So what’s the date? Are we doing dinner? Coffee? Drinks?” Kara quickly pestered him.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” His eyebrows raising. With that Mike turned away and began walking in the direction of home. 

“You really are something else Matthews.” she yelled after him, it felt funny to call him Matthews, she had never called him anything besides Mike but it simply slipped out of her mouth. She watched as his lifted his hand giving her a wave while still walking away from her. Kara felt as a stupidly large grin appeared on her face along with a slight blush. She was in so deep already, she couldn’t help herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always feel free to leave feedback, suggestions, Kudos, whatever you’re feeling up for! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	18. Interrogations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex finds out that Kara and Mike are starting up a relationship again and it's safe to say she is not thrilled with the idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap its been a while!  
> So turns out school is kicking my ass more and more each day. I constantly want to write when I am doing other things but when I do get time to write I find myself at a loss for motivation or creativity. I hate having to give you guys excuses and I wish I could consistently update but that's not the reality of my situation and I'm sorry.

“Look, Kara as much as I want you to be happy and I know I encouraged this before, I just don’t think it’s a good idea anymore.” Kara had invited Alex over for what she called “movie night” when in reality it had been an excuse to talk about Mike. However things were not going as planned.

“I get that you have this crush on him but seriously?” Alex had become angry when Kara explained she had decided to see Mike. “He stood you up once and ran away from you another time. Don’t you think you deserve better than that?

“Alex come on,” Kara was pleading with her sister at this point. They had barely finished popping the popcorn when Kara decided to slip into the conversation that she was going out with Mike again. Alex had proceeded to lecture and scold Kara between bites of popcorn and sips of wine for nearly an hour. “I’ve already told you, he didn’t mean to stand me up.”

“Im sorry Kara, but how do you “accidentally”” bringing her hands up to air quote Kara’s earlier argument, “stand someone up on a date?”

That was the question that Kara had been navigating around throughout their argument. She couldn’t tell Alex what Mike had told her earlier. She couldn’t break his trust, he had confided in her something that he had never told his brother. 

“It just happened Alex. You don't have to worry about it, we talked about it this morning.”

Alex let out a frustrated huff, “No that doesn't just happen Kara. When you truly like someone and want to be with them, you don't just forget about a date. So sorry I'm trying to protect my baby sister.”

“I don’t need you to protect me anymore Alex, I’m an adult!” 

“I just think you're making a poor decision Kara, I don’t trust Mike.”

Now raising her voice Kara had become fed up “It doesn't matter if you trust him Alex, I do and that's what matters.”

“Fine, when he does something stupid like this again, I will comfort you because I’m your sister but I will be saying I told you so the whole time.” She grabbed the remaining popcorn and walked to the couch, “lets just watch this movie.”

Kara spent the whole movie doing anything but paying attention to the movie. Kara was anything but in the mood to watch a movie following the argument. She trusted Alex’s opinion more than anyone in her life, but Mike. It felt unfair for Alex to judge him so quickly. She had only met him a few times. She didn’t get to see the small gestures he did, giving her his coat or the thoughtful flowers. Then again, Alex had never been so against her interest in someone. Maybe she just wanted to make sure she was safe? 

As the movie credits scrolled, Alex excused herself, grabbing her coat before saying goodbye to Kara and walking out the door. Before climbing into the driver’s seat of her car she grabbed her phone, composing a message to Winn,

Alex: Will Mike be home tomorrow morning?

She sent the message and pulled out of the parking lot of Kara’s apartment. By the time she pulled up to her own home, she had received several responses from Winn.

Winn: Yes  
Winn: I’ll be here too  
Winn: Why?  
Winn: Is this about him and Kara?

She quickly responded.

Alex: I just want to talk to him.

It took less than a minute before Winn had replied to her previous message.

Winn: Okay, I’m going to assume it’s about him and Kara. Yes he’ll be home.  
Winn: Am I supposed to give him a heads up or are you trying to ambush him?

Alex laughed at Winn’s text before giving it a second thought, if she let him prepare, it might be less genuine.

Alex: Ambush, I’ll be over at 8

With that, Alex left her car to head inside and get some rest before tomorrow's activities.   
Alex was up at the home of Winn Schott by 8 the following morning. Only it wasn’t Winn who answered the door as she had been expecting. Instead it was Mike, dressed in his pajamas with messy bedhead.

“Alex,” his eyes widened “hi, come on in.” He stepped back from the door, letting Alex in. “Do you want me to get Winn?”

“Oh no. I’m here for you Mike”

“Me?” He pointed his thumb at his chest and Alex was really enjoying the expression of slight panic that was present in his eyes. “Yeah, okay.” Mike reached his hand into his sweatpants, grabbing his phone in an attempt to give Kara the heads up that her sister had come to interrogate him. 

“Nope,” Alex snatched the phone from Mike’s hand, smile on her face.

They walked to the kitchen, where Mike had clearly been in the middle of preparing breakfast. “Do you want anything?” 

“Oh no thanks, I ate before coming over.”

Just as Mike finished cooking his eggs, Winn popped his head out of his bedroom, “Hey you’re finally here.”

“Hi, Winn.” She greeted her host, before turning her attention to Mike who had sat down across from her at the kitchen counter. “So Mike,” she started before being interrupted.

“I know why you’re here, I’m not stupid. Kara must have told you that I asked her out again and that she agreed and now you’re here to interrogate me and convince me to not go out with her, right?”

“Okay when you phrase it like that I sound like a terrible sister.” Alex didn’t want Mike to feel like she was trying to break them up. “I just want to make sure she doesn’t get hurt,” she waits a second before adding, “again.”

Mike knew standing up Kara on their first official date was never going to go over well with Alex. Kara had told him how mad she was. He was determined to right his wrong and prove to Alex that he was worthy of her little sister. 

“I know, I screwed up. Kara forgave me, would it be possible for you to as well?” He gave Alex a hopeful smile.

“Kara’s a better person than me Mike, she sees the good in people, and sometimes that's come back to hurt her. I know you told her things that seemed to justify your absence but that does not mean I’ll forgive you just because she does.”

“Then it seems I have my work cut out for me.” Mike smiles as he finishes off his breakfast, moving his plate and cup to the sink.

“I’m not done with you yet Matthews. I have more questions,” Alex starts before her phone rings, interrupting her sentence. She answers the phone as Mike turns his attention to the mess he had made of the kitchen. “I guess it's your lucky day, I have to go in earlier than I thought.” She turned to head to the door, Mike followed shortly behind.

“Oh and tell your brother I appreciate him keeping it a secret that I was coming this morning.” She flashed him a smile. “Oh and you can have this back so you can text my sister about how I interrogated you.” Sliding his phone back into his hand, she turned and grabbed the door knob. 

“Um, thanks. Have a nice day Alex.” 

Once the door closed, Mike tuned resting his back on the solid wood and taking a deep breath before remembering what Alex had told him.

“WINN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I will finish this story if it take the rest of my life, but it will get done!
> 
> As always feel free to leave comments, kudos or critiques! I love going through the comments you guys leave and seeing everyone's feedback.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for taking you time to read this! I know this chapter was a little vague and short, next chapter will be the party and Mike meets everyone! I don't think I'll be telling Mike's story and background quite yet thought, gotta have some mystery. Please leave any feedback, positive, critical or simply reactions. I would love to hear what you guys think or want to see from this story. <3


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